Through Our Eyes Arc 1
by Naomi Shihoin
Summary: Shinji, Ryuu, Neliel, Yoruichi, Soi Fon, Hachigen, Shigeru, Naomi, Grimmjow, Tessai, Kisuke, Aizen, Kaname, Rōjūrō, Love, Kensei and Mashiro. 17 Academy students, 17 Zanpakutō. Follow the canon storyline as small changes make great impressions; each arc has separate thread.
1. Academy

**I'm writing Through Our Eyes. So without further ado, here it is**.

**A/N: I have always wondered what Bleach would be like if one of my favourite characters was the 10th Division Captain instead of Tōshirō Hitsugaya. I would like to remind people — yes, Ryuken-Sogetsu, even you — that this is an AU. It will not always adhere to canon; when it does, expect the unexpected**.

_What would have happened if instead of becoming an Arrancar, Neliel ended up becoming a Shinigami? Sprung from my obsession with Bleach atm._

_Neliel and Grimmjow, among others, grew up in the same generation as Yoruichi and Kisuke. Follow the canon storyline as one small change has the greatest of impressions._

_There will be Shinji x Neliel, Kisuke x Yoruichi, Kisuke x Soi Fon and many other relationships that can't be shared at this point in time as well as a Shinji/Grimmjow rivalry and Isshin/Ryūken friendship_.

**Disclaimer: Bleach and all of its characters are the property of Tite Kubo. I own nothing in this story, except my OCs, original Zanpakutō and the changes in canon I made. Please support the official release**.

**Rated: T-M; minor-moderate language and violence**.

**Anyways, hope you guys enjoy my story! Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**Arc 1: Shin'ō Reijutsu Academy and the Dark Path That Follows**

**Chapter 1: Academy**

— One hundred and twenty years before the Agent of the Soul Reaper arc, at the Academy —

"_Soar, Sparrowhawk's Wings of Protection." A voice ordered evenly._

_Her eyes flew open. A gale of wind brushed past her, severing the Hollow's hand. Its cry of pain echoed through the air, before it turned to see a Shinigami with a white coat standing on a building's roof with a katana in their hand without a blade._

_Had she heard that voice before? Those exact same words?_

_"Shihōin-dono, I don't think acting harsh toward a child will help..."_

"Hey, Neliel!" A familiar childish voice called out to her. Said girl turned to face the speaker, her long, wavy greenish-blue hair moving with the wind, her long fingers playing with her red and white hakama. The speaker was Shihōin Yoruichi, princess of the Shihōin Clan; she and a whole heap of other children were clustered beside and near two sets of adults. Izuru Kagekiyo and Shizuka, both blonde, hugged their son Ryuu and Shizuka gestured for their adopted son, Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow, to come over and stand near them, too. He complied. The second set of adults were Shihōin Neji and Yuriko. It had been at her father's insistence that Yoruichi called Neliel over, since the Shihōin had taken her in as well and cared for her... but now, now they were all entering the Academy and the parents wanted to farewell them one last time.

The children waved and called farewell and were stopped by Shinji before one of the Academy teachers admitted them in. "Alright dickheads," he began, staring each of them in the eyes. "If any of us were to get separated for whatever reason, the one who remained behind was to come to the 'lost ones'. Promise me that, dickheads!" He hissed.

A chorus of "Yes!" rang out. Kisuke's came last, but his agreement shocked Shinji, who hadn't realized the Urahara boy would take this seriously.

"Grimmjow-kun...?" Neliel's quiet voice just reached their ears. The boy with light blue spiky hair nodded for her to continue. "How did you die?"

The rest of their friends turned, noticing Grimmjow's reiatsu increase and his eyes darken, before he replied. "A wolf-like Hollow, Neliel-san." The reiatsu settled down.

An Academy teacher then allowed them to enter. "Hirako Shinji, Izuru Ryuu, Odelschwanck Neliel Tu, Shihōin Yoruichi, Soi Fon, Ushōda Hachigen, Yadōmaru Shigeru, Shihōin Naomi, Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow and Tsukabishi Tessai: you ten are in the advanced class as you already know. Urahara Kisuke, Sōsuke Aizen, Tōsen Kaname, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, Aikawa Love, Muguruma Kensei and Kuna Mashiro: the seven of you are in the regular class. To all of you, your schedules are ready!" A voice called from an adjacent room. The seventeen students entered the adjoining room, where they received their schedules.

"You will have more uniforms placed in your private dorms when you arrive. The Asauchi you used will be given to you at the Academy after you have demonstrated enough skill to use it responsibly without badly injuring someone. You may go."

…

They compared schedules with each other, with Shinji glaring warily at Aizen.

The end result was: **First Class**: Kisuke and Yoruichi | Shinji and Ryuu | Grimmjow and Neliel | Tessai and Hachigen | Rōjūrō and Soi Fon | Aizen and Kaname | Kensei and Love | Mashiro and Naomi | Shigeru. **Second Class**: All together. **Third Class**: Rōjūrō, Kensei, Love, Mashiro and Hachigen | Neliel, Shinji and Ryuu| Kisuke, Yoruichi and Soi Fon | Aizen and Kaname | Shigeru, Naomi, Grimmjow and Tessai. **Fourth Class**: All together. **Fifth Class**: Kisuke, Tessai and Yoruichi | Shinji, Ryuu, Grimmjow and Neliel | Shigeru, Aizen and Kaname | Kensei, Rōjūrō and Soi Fon | Hachigen and Naomi | Love and Mashiro. **Sixth Class**: Kisuke, Yoruichi, Soi Fon, Shinji, Grimmjow and Neliel | Ryuu and Naomi | Aizen and Kaname | Hachigen, Shigeru and Tessai | Rōjūrō, Love, Kensei and Mashiro.

_Like all of the other times, she was back in the corridor. Except there was something different about it. The paper walls were no longer blank. There was a painting depicting a village, many small wooden buildings and houses, some in a bad state, others in fairly good condition. The sky was clear; not a cloud in the sky. It looked so lifelike that she almost thought she was looking through a window. Oh wait, there was one flaw to the painting — a large black spot where Neliel assumed the sun would be._

_"Neliel…" There was that voice again._

_"Who are you?" Neliel asked for the first time._

_"I am…" the voice said, but didn't continue. Neliel raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. "Why don't you step outside and let me see you? Then you can see who I am."_

_"That sounds nice, but I come to every time I open the door," Neliel said, but she still complied as she walked towards the door at the end of the corridor._

_"Then try harder," the voice said, but didn't elaborate. Neliel opened the door and found herself standing in the same village she saw on the painting. As she stood there surveying the deserted village, a voice sudden called out: "I'm behind you."_

_Startled, Neliel whipped around. The corridor from which she'd exited from had disappeared. In its place towered a forest. No wait, there was a greenish-brown ibex-like centaur standing in front of her. He looked imposing and his features suggested he had been in many battles. His coat was pale and he stomped a foreleg._

_As soon as Neliel made eye contact with the creature, she suddenly felt a huge pressure slamming into her, crushing her, almost bringing her to her knees. Trying to stand her ground, she nearly missed the centaur saying: "Ah, it's so nice to finally see you in here, Neliel."_

_"Who- who are you?" Neliel asked through gritted teeth._

_"You should know who I am. My name is…" Neliel saw the centaur's lips moving, but she couldn't hear what he was saying._

_"What? What's your name?"_

_Silence. "I see. It is not time for you to know. You will know, in due time."_

_And the pressure lifted, so suddenly that Neliel stumbled forward-_

_And came back to the living world_.

...

— Kisuke and Yoruichi —

"Don't worry, Yoruichi-san; Neliel-san will be fine," Kisuke tried to convince his classmate for the fourth time, causing the Shihōin princess to smile and start laughing at the blonde Urahara.

"Ah Kisuke, I'm not worried about her," she answered, feeling disappointed that they wouldn't have many classes together, but amused nonetheless.

"Then what are you worried about, Yoruichi-san?" he asked, looking bewildered.

A small evil smirk forming on her face, Yoruichi glanced over at him. "I'm worried about Grimmjow. It's an accident waiting to happen if they spend too much time together," she laughed quietly. Kisuke raised an eyebrow in question at this. "Neliel is too smart for Grimmjow to play "secrets" with; besides, I have a bad feeling they'll get too emotionally attached to each other," Yoruichi continued, appearing anxious.

Kisuke countered by saying they did the same thing, so what would be the difference of how Neliel reacted with Grimmjow?

"Being adopted by my family gave Neliel a different perspective of this world, since my father saved her from a Hollow in Junrinan, so we have an understanding and respect for one another. The Izuru clan has very dissimilar ideals to the Shihōin, so they would have taught Grimmjow distinct ways," she explained.

...

— Shinji and Ryuu —

"Quiet!" Ounabara's voice had adopted a much stricter tone than the one he'd used yesterday as he addressed the class of approximately thirty students. "For those of you who weren't listening, I am Ounabara Gengoro, and I will be your chief instructor during your time in the Academy!"

The entire classroom was silent as they listened to him speak. No one dared to speak after he'd sent one student out for only being a minute late. They knew he meant business.

"As you should have figured out by now, you are all members of the first-year class 1. All of you have been chosen according to your test results, which were the highest amongst every single new academy student. In other words, this is a special accelerated class for the best new trainees, namely — everyone in this room. You will get to do stuff others won't do, learn things other classes don't teach, because every one of you have the potential."

He paused to scan the class before booming out: "Come in!" Seconds later, the girl he'd sent out walked in meekly and immediately took her place, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"As I was saying, this class has the honour of being graced by almost every captain and lieutenant in the Gotei 13. In fact, one of the lieutenants managed to graduate within a year five years ago and is considered a prodigy. I've heard that she's only just become the 8th Division's lieutenant. Although not everyone is capable of that, I still expect all of you to go on and become high-ranking seated officers!"

This was greeted by soft murmurs from the class at how high the bar had been set for them by their teacher.

"Silence!" Ounabara boomed again and everyone fell silent. "For everyone in this class, there will be no rest until you've been accepted into one of Soul Society's three military units. In the coming months and years, your training will forge you into the iron core at the heart of these units. It is for this purpose that, each and every day, you will dedicate your body and soul to your training. I don't wish to see anyone slacking off. We have high hopes in all of you. Don't disappoint us. Any questions?"

No one spoke, not even a usually talkative potty-mouthed blonde. "Good. Now on to your classes. In addition to a general education, where you will learn more about the Shinigami, Soul Society and other things, you will also be taught how to control your reiatsu, which is essential for training in the four main forms of combat — Hakuda, Hohō, Kidō and Zanjutsu. Not only that, you will learn to communicate with your Zanpakutō, a class which I will be personally conducting. More will be taught to you as you progress…"

...

— All together in the Second Class —

"You wrote down everything he said?" Yoruichi stared wide-eyed at Neliel, who just raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"The best way to remember things is to make sure you get every little detail, right? So why not?" she asked quietly. The members of the advanced class stared at her in surprise, but she just crossed her arms. "I stand by what I said; even though some would say it is odd," Neliel put forward, glancing at Yoruichi for an answer.

She smirked and nodded, telling the other girl that it was a bit strange, but she sighed and shrugged again. Then the instructor walked in and introduced himself as Urahara Yuuto, took the roll call and began a lesson about Shinigami duties and three separate military branches. Out of the three, the Gotei 13 was the largest and almost everyone entered it.

For the Kidō Corps and Onmitsukidō, they specialized in Kidō and unarmed combat respectively. They only took in the best, and were pretty much exclusive; they came for you. You didn't go to them.

In addition, they also learnt about the history of Soul Society. Most of the students found it immensely boring, but they knew it was necessary, especially since Neliel and Grimmjow were interested to find a way to change the lives of those in Rukongai.

That was pretty much what they covered for the first week. They had nothing concerning combat training, unless you counted some limited physical training, something Shinji and Ryuu were getting impatient about.

…

— Neliel, Shinji and Ryuu; Third Class —

The three students turned down a few corridors and arrived at the doorway of their next class, sliding the door open and walking inside. They saw a few faces they recognized from their previous classes, but none were very sociable to them. Neliel then noticed a male student sitting next to the window looking at her group with interest. They walked past the staring faces and sat down beside each other behind the boy at the window, but he turned in his seat and had a smile on his face. "How's it going?" he asked.

Neliel placed a hand on Shinji's shoulder just as he uttered the words: "What's it to you, dickhe-" He gave Neliel a look of confusion.

"My apologies," she murmured. "My classmate has a loose tongue. My name is Odelschwanck Neliel Tu, this is Hirako Shinji and that's Izuru Ryuu." She pointed to each of them in turn.

"Mine is Shiba Isshin!" the raven-haired boy exclaimed.

The instructor walked in with a silent sigh, got everyone's attention and introduced himself as Kuchiki Sōjun, confirming he was part of the Kuchiki family. He told them to address him as their instructor, called each student's name and began his lesson on how to properly release large amounts of spirit energy without completely draining yourself of it.

Once again, Neliel took notes of everything the instructor explained on the subject and, like every other time, it seemed like the class was over before she knew it had begun. "Hey Neliel, what's your next class?" Isshin called out.

Neliel glanced at him, before checking her schedule. "… Advanced Training," she answered, making it more a question than a statement.

"So do I!" Isshin smiled widely.

"We do as well," Ryuu added actively.

_I wonder how many other students have it_, Neliel thought as they headed outside for their next class.

…

**A/N: At 2336 words, that's a pretty good chapter, I believe. And I listened to Bleach OST 4 Power to Strive (Grimmjow's Theme) the whole time I wrote it. The second chapter will be written with the inspiration of a Quincy clip and should be posted around the 16th of April**.


	2. Senjumaru

_Five days ahead of the original schedule and well ahead of the revised schedule. Here it is, people; chapter 2! I worked for hours on this last night. I hope everyone enjoys!_

**QueenPersephoneofHades**: Thanks for the comments regarding chapter 1. In light of Ryuken-Sogetsu's fic challenge, the plotline of Through Our Eyes has now majorly changed. I hope you enjoy the modifications. :)

_**Chapter 2: Senjumaru**_

— Out in the court yard —

"... at her; she's mine, dickhead!" Shinji declared as the students for the Advanced Training class entered the courtyard.

"Hirako-san, please do not call me that," Grimmjow cheerfully waved him off. "Neliel-chan is not anyone's. Besides, what is the harm of sharing?"

"I don't wanna share, get it?" The blonde's voice suddenly went cold. Neliel was staring at the bickering boys wide-eyed, wondering why they would be causing such a fuss in front of their sensei, who had his arms crossed in displeasure. Yoruichi, observing her adopted sister's cluelessness, decided to be as tactless as ever.

She explained to Neliel that despite how young they all were, Shinji and Grimmjow had a crush on her; Shinji being Shinji wanted to pick a fight about it and then there was the issue of his potty mouth, but Grimmjow had dismissed him because he had been protecting her.

"Alright, you eleven; time to start your training," the male instructor stated forcefully. "You're late, Shiba! Get in line with the others! Hirako! Control that mouth of yours or it's Genryuusai-sama's office for you!"

Shinji, Ryuu, Neliel, Yoruichi, Soi Fon, Hachigen, Shigeru, Naomi, Grimmjow, Tessai and Isshin made up the class, which only made Shinji become wary of why Isshin was the other Advanced Training student. But then he realized he must be in Class Two; since Class Three was for the regular students and their own Class One was big enough already. They all glanced at each other, then at their instructor and nodded to one another.

"Now take out your swords and destroy as many targets as possible!" The instructor yelled, pointing to the dummy Shinigami running at them.

They unsheathed their swords and raced forward with resolute expressions on their faces. The eleven of them eliminated all the enemies within one minute and ten seconds exactly; a time that their sensei said was the new record by a full minute. Isshin and Ryuu smiled at each other in achievement, while Neliel, Grimmjow and Shinji nodded to themselves. They went through the same exercise over and over again until the end of class; something they were all simmering about by the end, but were also glad for it.

As they sheathed their swords and prepared to go back inside, they checked their schedules to see what was next and Shinji noticed he had Ryuu, Grimmjow and Neliel as his classmates. _Not Bluey again... oh and the Yadōmaru mystery boy. Who the hell are his parents? Tch, Bluey_, Shinji grumbled.

The four of them hurried to their next class and made it inside just before the instructor shut the door. The class was the very boring subject known as: History of the World of the Living. Ryuu struck up an interestingly 'unpleasant' conversation with a student known as Kurotsuchi Mayuri. Although he seemed coldly formal and gave Ryuu no respect, Shinji learned that he could be reliable when need be as he told the instructor of the Jigokuchou waiting for him, but he and Grimmjow had to keep Ryuu from beating Mayuri to a pulp most of the time, because of his cold-hearted, mocking nature.

The class went very similar to the rest, regardless; Shinji observed that Neliel took notes to the extreme, with Grimmjow truly following her lead. When Neliel saw this, they made eye contact for a brief second, smiled at each other and kept going. Ryuu blinked at them as if they were mad, but eventually shrugged it off and smirked to himself, while Mayuri gawked at them with unblinking, hardened eyes as if they were his next tests. The class ended before Shinji knew it had begun but, when they realized their lunch time was up next, they smiled and headed to the cafeteria.

...

— Lunch area —

"Hey, Lisa-chan." A sing-song like voice wafted over to the previously empty table where some of the advanced class students were sitting. Ryuu did most of the talking, which annoyed Shinji, but he had to put up with it and nod, smirk or laugh at something funny.

"What is it, old man?" The woman, Yadōmaru Lisa, bit back.

"They really like each other, don't they?"

Shinji's eyes widened when he realized the _captain_ and _lieutenant_ of the 8th Division were talking about them. He whirled around to glare at them from across the hall... only to find they weren't there. Shinji suddenly felt a hand on his head and instinctively flicked it off in agitation, but his own hand became caught and he looked up angrily.

"... We had our fun," Lisa replied, glancing over at Shigeru with — was that _fondness?_ Shinji was stunned, a look of complete disbelief written on his face. It all made sense now that he thought about it; but he still couldn't believe it. An Academy student: the child of a Division's current captain and lieutenant? He'd never heard of such an occurrence.

Shunsui smiled at the two groups: Shinji, Grimmjow and Neliel and Kisuke, Yoruichi and Soi Fon from beneath the wide brim of his hat. "Love is nothing to be ashamed of."

"L-love?" Shinji stammered.

"Yes, yes. You and Grimmjow have a crush on Neliel-chan. Just as Urahara-san is finding the sun quite hot when around his pretty birds."

"That's enough, Shunsui," Lisa murmured quietly, Shinji hearing a caring tone in her voice. She stroked Shunsui's face. "I don't think the first years want to hear this discussion until later. The rest of their friends are coming over, anyway."

"We've got company," Ryuu spoke, looking over Shinji's shoulder. Shunsui and Lisa blended back into the crowd, not wanting to disturb the students any further, but having sown the first seeds of fate.

Grimmjow had gone into shock at Shunsui's words and Shinji was now in a foul mood, so when a sandal slapped the long-haired blonde across the back of his head, he whirled around in a fury. "Don't touch me, Hiyori!" he snarled.

A moment's silence and a glance at the two boys, before the short, twin pony-tailed girl shouted: "Two dickheads! Where'd ya pick up the other one, dickhead Shinji?!"

Yoruichi, Kisuke, Tessai and the rest approached them, with Yoruichi introducing the girl as second year Sarugaki Hiyori.

Shinji snapped at Yoruichi that he already knew that, hesitated at her surprised visage, before pushing his doubts about offending the Shihōin Clan princess aside and getting back at Hiyori by making a face at her.

Aizen and Kaname stood at the entrance to the cafeteria; the brunette boy was utterly shocked at his classmate's behaviour, the blind Tōsen sensing by sound what was happening. Aizen's reiatsu must have flared slightly in his taken aback state, as Shinji had already turned away from Hiyori and materialized in front of Sōsuke, his hands grabbing the other boy's collar.

A slim and young girl with chin-length black hair that framed both sides of her face ran into the cafeteria, panting and eyes frantically searching for someone. Failing to see the person, she scurried up to the boys. "Stop, please!" She pleaded, catching the attention of both the advanced students and regular class. The girl pushed her round glasses up her nose with one finger. "Yadōmaru fuku-taichou has gone to get a taichou outside her Division! You must stop!"

Shinji pivoted on one foot, seeing the 8th Division captain in the corner of the eating hall, his hat raised, one hand waving cheerily. The girl, whoever she was, was right; the fuku-taichou that the captain had called Lisa was nowhere to be seen. "S-shit!" he growled, releasing his hands from Aizen's collar, but giving a dirty look that said it all: _I'm watching you_.

Suddenly, Lisa had reappeared, a slender and very youthful woman with fair skin and long, black hair beside her. All students felt the other captain's reiatsu a split second after she shunpoed into the hall, but only second years and above, including Hiyori herself, gave the required gesture for respect. The first years had no idea, but were about to find out just who she was.

"Presenting Shutara-taichou of the 5th Division." A tall and lean individual shunpoed in next, yet his appearance was more wiry than thin and had the same pale blonde hair Kisuke did, but his was pulled back from his face in a classic pony-tail. Grey eyes gazed out from beneath the wisps of a floppy fringe and, gazing at him, Shinji had an impression of both intellect and poise in the stranger's manner.

Upon recognizing the older Urahara, Kisuke stiffened and drew back, causing Yoruichi and Soi Fon to place their hands on his shoulders in concern. "Kisuke...?" Yoruichi asked, trailing off as she saw Kisuke's mouth open slightly.

"Yuudai-sama," he murmured. Yoruichi and Soi Fon glanced at each other, still confused. "He's my second cousin," the younger Urahara finished. As Yoruichi and Soi Fon narrowed their eyes at the older Urahara's sword, they realised that the hilt was curved and different from the ones they had seen before.

The 5th Division's captain looked Lisa directly in the eyes. "Yadōmaru fuku-taichou, take your charge and inform her of waywardness."

"Yes, taichou." Lisa nodded, took the girl by the hand and left in a shunpo.

"Hirako-san." Shinji choked on a gasp and started coughing; Grimmjow and Neliel rushed to help him settle. "You will come with me." The woman placed a hand on his shoulder, barely giving his friends enough time to promise to tell them what happened later.

"I promis-" He got out, before the captain shunpoed away.

Ahead of Yuudai leaving the same way, he glanced around at all the students, raised his voice and merely said: "Order." before disappearing.

...

"I understand you used shunpo in your exchange with Sōsuke Aizen, didn't you?" The woman, who had introduced herself as Shutara Senjumaru-taichou, asked light-heartedly to some extent. Shinji froze, fear piercing through him at the taichou's insight. At his reaction, Senjumaru nodded. "Don't worry, Hirako-san, I'm not going to rap you over the knuckles." She paused, grinning teasingly, before becoming serious again. "But I will have to report this to the sou-taichou."

"W-why?" Shinji stammered, wondering what was going to happen to his life at the Academy.

"Because," she began, adjusting the large golden ornament in the shape of a crescent moon with numerous small lines radiating outwards that was fixed in her hair. "I believe the Shin'ō Reijutsu has a new prodigy in our midst." Senjumaru stared at Shinji with an uncomfortable intensity.

"M-me?"

She spread her arms out, while pointedly staring at the boy, as if to say: _Who do you think I'm talking about? Of course it's you_.

...

Aizen had taken to studying for one of his classes the next day, except he couldn't shake the very irritated glares that Grimmjow sent in his direction. Eventually, he slammed his book shut and got up to throttle the innocence out of him, but stopped at Kaname's hand on his shoulder. "Let the cat snarl," the dark-skinned boy whispered, "but do not let him get to you. There will be justice in this world and fate will take a different turn for them."

"Thank you, Kaname," he returned the hum, sitting down again and refocusing on his studies.

Grimmjow stared at them, wide-eyed and sweat-dropping. He didn't have much chance to react after that, as Neliel pulled him sideways into a hug. "... Nel-chan, could you stop doing that please?" The light blue-haired student asked graciously. She immediately let go, smiling at him.

"Shiba-san, it's been a while since we first saw each other," Kisuke mentioned with a smirk.

"No kidding, right? Something like three years?" Isshin replied, returning the grin.

The advanced class and a few of the regular students sat in conversation the whole time, eating when they could until they had to arrive at their last class. For the most part, it was: Kisuke, Yoruichi, Soi Fon, Shinji, Grimmjow and Neliel in one class; Ryuu and Naomi in the second; Aizen and Kaname in the third; Hachigen, Shigeru and Tessai in the fourth; and Rōjūrō, Love, Kensei and Mashiro in the fifth.

When Kisuke's team arrived at their last class, Shinji's absence was pardoned by their sensei, but it still worried Neliel. This class went by very fast as well; though Neliel thought it could have gone faster, because of Grimmjow's constant flirting and winking. But Neliel didn't mind at all.

After everyone was released from their last class, they went to their separate dorms to get used to them; although the dorms were separate from each other, Yoruichi had managed to get hers and Soi Fon's close to Kisuke and Tessai's.

Since the day was still early, Yoruichi decided to introduce Neliel and Grimmjow to another friend of hers and Isshin's sister. "Hey you two!" She called out as they walked away from their dorms with a different change of clothes, which were a red kimono and light blue obi for Neliel and light blue kimono and dark blue obi for Grimmjow.

Grimmjow glanced over and sighed frustratedly. He was tired and wanted to sleep. "Yes, Yoruichi-san?" He asked, unwillingly walking over to her, followed by Neliel.

"Wanna come with me, Kisuke, Tessai and Isshin? We're going to visit Isshin's sister," she said by way of explanation as they reached one another.

"Whatever," he answered, apparently uninterested.

Despite this, Yoruichi remained cheerful, grabbed the love-birds' hands and dragged them away. Kisuke and Tessai struggled to keep up. A few metres away, Isshin stood in the shadows between his friends and his dorm. "What do you think, Ryūken? Do you think they'll ever become closer than what they are now?" He asked a figure standing a few metres away from him.

"I don't know... What _I_ want to know is why you never seem to care about me? I'm a Quincy; I'm not meant to be here. If I was caught, they'd-"

Isshin cut off Ryūken's wounded brotherly tone by waving a hand in front of his face. "Come now Ryūken, you don't think I'd bring you out here if I didn't know you'd definitely be safe, do you?" He asked confidently.

Ryūken sighed. "Actually, I think you would," he responded with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face.

Isshin pretended to sniff. "Oh, that hurt! I would never place my friends in danger for my own entertainment!" He exclaimed, still faking being saddened.

"Really?" Ryūken countered in a mocking tone, with a roll of his eyes.

"I didn't mean for that to happen... She really liked you!" Isshin sputtered nervously.

"Well, whatever. And I think they'll make a good pair, by the way," the young Quincy replied, making Isshin nod and smirk as well.

...

**A/N**: All OCs in this fic, as well as any tweaks I've made to canon characters, will be made available on my profile once I get around to fixing them up nice and proper. Which character would you like to see first? Please tell me via reviews or PMs. Also, who sat on the edge of their seats when Shigeru was revealed to be Shunsui and Lisa's son and, more importantly, who wants to read Promiscuous? Again, let me know by PMs or reviews, thanks.

Also, some notes I wish to impart:

1. I believe Mayuri was an Academy student at one point, before he went "mad scientist" and wanted to dissect someone, which caused Central 46 to intervene and dump him in the Maggot's Nest. Of course, I have that someone in mind and the dark path down the road to Mayuri's mad scientist stereotype will be explained in due time.

2. Jigokuchou is the Japanese word for Hell Butterfly, for those of you who didn't know, but I hope I'm not wrong in assuming that most of you do already.

3. Kaname's words to Aizen were a veiled threat against eight Academy students, both those you see now and those still to come.

4. This chapter also marked lil'Nanao's debut appearance. Since she was, I believe, an unseated officer in the TBTP arc, I thought it was fitting she start off as an Academy student. I won't say what Lisa discusses with her, though.

5. For all intents and purposes in my universe of the anime, I have made Shutara Senjumaru the 5th Division's taichou. The 3rd, 7th and 9th Division taichou are going to be OCs and will appear later at Shinji's graduation.

6. Lastly, Senjumaru's conversation with Genryūsai will be in the next chapter, along with a few other surprises.


	3. Rumour part 1

**A/N**: Change in plans, people; the 3rd, 7th and 9th Division taichou were going to be OCs, but I've changed them to more familiar characters that we all know and love (or hate, depending). They featured in the Shinigami VS Arrancar War, but I'm not saying any more than that, only that they're showing up in this chapter; ahead of schedule, but for a good reason.

_**Chapter 3: Rumour part 1**_

_Yoruichi stood up. "Thanks for lunch, Kukaku, but we have to get going before it gets too late; we have to head back to our dorms, ya know?" She explained with a wink._

_Kukaku nodded. "Alright, just be sure to come back soon and if you see Ganju, head in the opposite direction; he's getting more annoying than Kaien!" She responded with a thumbs up and a wink of her own._

"_Hey!" Kaien yelled at his younger sister._

"_Will do... see ya later!" Yoruichi called, before taking the love birds' arms again and hurrying them out the door_.

...

Another year had started.

Shihōin Neji leaned against the windowsill of the Shihōin mansion, staring anxiously outside as the trees lost their leaves. "A new term at the Shin'ō Reijutsu has begun again." From his position by the window, the tall man with short, spiky purple hair considered the days ahead.

"It seems like barely any time has passed since _that_ day, yet things are happening so swiftly. Near on four decades is no time at all, considering the flow of time here in Soul Society is different to the of the living world. I'm the only one left from my time at the Academy. Itsuki, Takuma, Hanako, Youta... they're all dead; well, Itsuki's not, but retirement is much the same thing. He doesn't come to talk to me anymore, so..."

"So nothing, Neji." A cold feminine voice spoke up just then. The man's companion, his third cousin and wife Ayaka, was a truer Shihōin than he ever would be; she had the skills, stealth and intent behind every killing she made. Not that she did much of that; it was more the fact she was truly Clan-born, unlike him, being a broken-blooded disgrace to the Shihōin Clan. Ayaka held her Zanpakutō horizontally in front of her face, the sword visibly trembling in anticipation of the kills it expected were to come. "I swear on Dragon Killer every last member of Kitsune's family will pay for what he did to you."

Neji whirled around, shock evident in his eyes. "But... the kids!"

A few moments silence. "He has agreed to leave Kisuke, Kiru and Yuudai alone. Besides, he was referring to Kitsune's immediate family," Ayaka replied indifferently, staring seriously into her husband's eyes. Neji sagged with obvious relief. "You're such a fool, sometimes, Neji. Did you honestly think I would let my Zanpakutō ravage the flesh of my godsons?" He could hear the silent words Ayaka was asking him: _Did you believe I know there's no way to cure Hollowfication?_

Neji lowered his eyes and sighed in defeat, shaking his head. "Sorry, Ayaka." He glanced up at her, searching for forgiveness.

The woman sheathed her Zanpakutō, laughing lightly as she did so, before placing a hand on her husband's shoulder. "You have your pardon."

...

_Seven days later..._

It turned out that their first week or so of their training was in preparation for their combat training. Despite the two advanced classes being together, and regardless of befriending the Class Two genius Hisagi Shūhei, how could they just jump straight into things like using Kidō if they didn't even know how to control their reiatsu and draw on their reiryoku?

So aside from their normal lessons, they had to control their power, crucial for Kidō and Hohō, and physically train for Hakuda and Zanjutsu. Whether they in fact understood it was a different matter altogether; they were taught the basics and were expected to train with it without guidance. After all, they were the advanced classes.

"While the majority of you should have some form of control over your spiritual powers, it is merely the tip of your power; you have most of it stored within you. These lessons teach you to draw it out and control it as well."

Both classes were in the compound, a fair distance away from the main building and away from other students. At the moment, the instructor was giving a long speech about reiatsu. "Reiatsu is the spiritual pressure you create when you release your reiryoku. The pressure you create is proportional to the amount of reiryoku you have; the greater your reiatsu is, the more reiryoku you have."

"As the name suggests, raising your reiatsu creates a pressure that others can feel; that's why it can be used to strengthen your offensive and defensive abilities. If you raise it too high, however, you can suffocate others with a lower reiatsu than yours; this makes it dangerous, which is why control is important. This is why these lessons are conducted outside the Academy's grounds. All of you have a higher than average reiryoku level, so when you start attempting to control your reiatsu, we can't you have suffocating other students."

"To do this, more than simple concentration is needed. Drawing it out through meditation is what usually happens the first time. Once you have done that, future attempts will be much easier."

_A while later..._

It didn't take too long for the students to figure out what their sensei was talking about when they began meditating and attempting to draw out their energy. One by one, they felt their classmates' reiatsu flare up, followed by a thickening of the air as they felt different reiatsu signatures pressing against them. Their instructor would then aid them in bringing it under control.

It was distracting at first but, after the first few times, they brushed it off.

Ryuu, meanwhile, was having a slight problem in finding his well of energy. Every time he thought he'd found it, it seemed to disappear into nothingness. That couldn't be right. He tried searching for it again.

After a few tries, along with ignoring the reiatsu flares, he felt a spike in a familiar reiatsu.

"Good job, Grimmjow," he heard their instructor comment. "Now bring it under control."

He was pleasantly surprised to note Grimmjow's reiatsu was higher than most of the other advanced students' who'd already succeeded; about the same level as Neliel.

Disregarding that, he went back to his task at hand.

However, he was suddenly interrupted by a mass of yells and screams. Mixed voices, male and female, were yelling Shinji's name. "Shinji, what are you doing?"

Surprised, he opened his eyes and saw that all of his classmates — from Classes One and Two — who were originally sitting cross-legged on the ground were now all bending forward, as if something was pressing down on their backs. He was the same; even Shūhei was in a matching predicament, as the blonde Izuru checked on the other class' genius. None of the students were making any move to stand and they all had similar stunned looks on their faces.

Next thing he noticed, Shinji was surrounded by a large, pulsating yellowish aura that Ryuu quickly deduced was Hirako-san's spiritual power. It was flaring and flickering around him.

Ryuu heard their sensei yell at Shinji. "Hirako! Get a grip! Control your spiritual energy!" Although he was on his feet, their sensei was clearly having trouble moving; Ryuu realized it was affecting him, too.

...

After the class, all of his friends, but particularly Grimmjow and Ryuu, rounded on Shinji. "What was _that?_" Ryuu asked, barely able to contain his liveliness.

"I don't have a clue, dickheads," Shinji answered, straight-faced. When he finally realized it was his reiatsu that was smothering everyone, it distracted him enough that he struggled when attempting to control it.

He managed to bring his reiatsu level down, but it was still high enough that the other students remained immobile until their sensei shook Shinji and brought him out of the meditative state altogether. Immediately after that ordeal, the lesson ended.

"Shinji, tell me you're joking? That was definitely your reiatsu. We could barely move, let alone breathe. _How?_" Shūhei attempted to reason with the insolent blonde.

Shinji started making faces at Hisagi, but received a wallop on the back of his head from Grimmjow for his troubles. Shūhei smiled briefly at the light blue-haired boy, silently thanking him. "I don't know," the long-haired blonde answered, rolling his eyes. "I just reached for my energy. The next thing I know you guys are screaming," Shinji continued blankly as they walked back to the Academy. "_There goes my reputation_," he muttered under his breath.

Everyone stared at him weirdly, having only just heard the murmured words. Grimmjow grabbed Shinji's shoulder, the blonde making no attempt to flick it off in his brooding state. "Hirako-san," he began, making the words clear to hear and tightening his grip on the shoulder, forcing Shinji to turn back. "The opposite is going to happen."

"Yeah, Hirako-kun," Neliel added. "Did you not hear sensei just before? He said yours was the strongest reiatsu the Academy's experienced for just over three decades."

"_Taichou level!_" Shigeru hissed for fun, putting in his two cents' worth.

Shinji was rendered speechless and had a stunned expression on his face. "... T-taichou?" He stammered after a while, before shaking his head, denying the reality. "You dickheads are getting too far ahead of yourselves. I'm not strong enough to become a _taichou_. If I can't control my reiatsu, I'll endanger all of you."

Grimmjow snickered. "I'm quite sure taichou don't get extra lessons given to them." After the debacle, their sensei had ordered Shinji to take extra lessons to gain better control of his reiatsu, in order to prevent another incident happening again.

"Nice scream, by the way," Shinji shot back savagely. That wiped the grin off Grimmjow's face as everyone laughed, which made Shinji smirk. When Shinji's reiatsu had flared, Grimmjow's scream had been high-pitched for his voice.

"..." Grimmjow couldn't counter that one, which made everyone laugh even harder.

...

Sou-taichou Yamamoto Genryūsai was waiting for the 3rd Division's taichou, Starrk Coyote, to arrive so he could begin a meeting with him, Senjumaru and the 7th and 9th Division taichou. Finally, the doors of the 1st Division opened and in walked Coyote. Starrk-taichou was a tall, slender man with wavy, dark brown hair and blue-grey eyes. He had on a normal shihakusho and captain's haori.

"You are late, Starrk!" Genryūsai, who was sitting in a large chair at the head of the room, replied; while the other taichou stood in their respective places. Genryūsai was both the taichou of the 1st Division and the sou-taichou of all thirteen Divisions.

Coyote just lazily glanced over at his commander, before replying: "Forgive me, sou-taichou; I was delayed."

Genryūsai leaned forward in his chair. "I would like to hear your excuses as to why you were late!" His voice rang out. "But why you were late will have to wait! Senjumaru has some information she would like to share."

"That's right, sou-taichou," the 5th Division's taichou answered. "It has come to my attention that the Shin'ō Reijutsu has a new genius after three decades. The likes of which haven't been seen since Shihōin Neji and his friends."

"A new genius, you say?" The 7th Division's taichou, a messy short-haired blonde woman, asked. She had dark skin and green eyes, and her hair had three braided locks. "Who is this genius, Senjumaru? Anyone I've heard of?" The questions were put forward in a calm, collected manner.

"Hirako Shinji," Senjumaru answered. The 5th Division taichou explained he was one of the newest students to the Academy and could adequately use shunpo, despite not having been taught.

Genryūsai opened one eye. "What are you asking, Senjumaru?"

"I would like him to come straight to my Division when he graduates, sou-taichou," she responded. "I will teach him and he will become taichou in my place."

"Hmm..." Genryūsai mulled it over. "I shall speak to his instructors and see what they think." He slammed his cane onto the floor. "Dismissed!"

...

**A/N**: Ha, bet you weren't expecting that, were ya? I kept the 9th Division taichou silent on purpose. He visits Shinji's class in part 2. Hope everyone enjoys!


	4. Rumour part 2

**A/N**: A small or long monologue will be included now after a time skip, not every single time, but most of the time; it's just so you know what happened within that time frame.

_**Chapter 3: Rumour part 2**_

Neliel's prediction rang true. By lunch time, word about Shinji's extremely strong reiatsu appeared to have reached the entire Academy. Rather than the scared looks Shinji had been expecting, the group was instead greeted with expressions of awe aimed at the blonde from all of the other students.

"Tch, now the attention is irritating me." Shinji scowled, groaning, as a group of third year female students giggled and shot him suggestive glances as they walked past the table where Class One and Two's advanced and regular students were seated. He put his head on his arm.

"Have to agree there," Shigeru replied between mouthfuls of his meal. "I wish they'd stop staring at me."

"Tell me you're not serious?" Kisuke asked playfully. "They were staring at Shinji, you know that, right?"

"He's being very serious," Ryuu deadpanned, yet he was struggling to fight off a smile for Shigeru's sake. "Why do you care, anyway? You've got your birds."

"You're mad," Shūhei politely interrupted, before dismissing them and turning to Shinji. "What did you expect? You are Class One's top student. It doesn't help that half the female students here think you're good-looking, either."

Shinji didn't answer; neither did Yoruichi, Soi Fon, Kisuke, Grimmjow or Neliel. All six were silent, having turned their heads in the direction of a group of second years who appeared to have been around Shutara-taichou lately, judging by their whisperings.

Murmurings of "_Shutara-taichou handpicked him_", "_Going straight to her Division upon graduation_" and "_The sou-taichou is going to speak with his instructors_" drifted back to their ears.

They all looked at each other; with Shinji's eyes the only ones that widened. Before he could respond to the questions he knew his friends were going to ask, Shigeru cut in again. "What? Shinji, good-looking? Look at me!" He exclaimed, but they ignored him.

"W-what makes you say that, Hisagi?" Shinji finally got back to the original point.

"I've heard things from both dormitories," the boy simply replied. "Some of my cousin's friends have approached me about you, since Class Two is with Class One a lot and we're all friends."

Shinji scowled again, but didn't say anything. Some part of him was, for some reason, unhappy that Shutara-taichou had done this to him, but the pleased look on Neliel's face suggested he shouldn't upset her by countering what Shutara-taichou had put in place.

...

After lunch, their next lesson was their first practical combat training lesson: Kidō; something everyone had been waiting for, after going through the theory training. One could sense the excitement as Classes One and Two gathered at one of the Kidō training grounds.

The different grounds all had targets placed in a straight line at varying distances; from a few metres out to almost a hundred metres. All the targets were the same size: roughly the size of an average human torso. The targets at the grounds they were at were assembled at a distance of fifty metres.

Once again, proof that more was expected of the advanced students, their first task was to hit the targets with an intermediate level Hado spell, no less.

"Alright, now I want you to line up in three rows and I don't care where you're standing!" Their Kidō instructor commanded. "Except for you, Hirako. Whichever row you're in, I want you close enough to me." Shinji groaned as he made his way over to their sensei, followed by Grimmjow and Neliel, Grimmjow of whom was snickering quietly. It seemed news of the incident had reached their other instructors' ears.

They moved to the same position, the end of the line, but in different rows. Neliel took the first row, Shinji the second and Grimmjow the third.

"Now," their instructor yelled again, "your task is simple! Using Kidō, I want you all to attempt to hit the target and bring it down, using Hado # 31 Shakkahō. You were taught the incantation earlier and although this is a mid-level spell, it's one of the most common spells Shinigami use. First row! You will be given five minutes to prepare and then we'll start."

Five minutes later, the first row was called forward, Neliel included. Shinji whispered a "Good luck!" to her as she stepped forward but, if she heard him, she didn't answer.

"Students! Take your positions!" Their sensei shouted. "And begin!"

At once, multiple cries rang out. "_Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march onto the south! Hado No.31: Shakkahō!_"

It was harder than it looked, as only Neliel managed to produce the spell and successfully strike the target. Still, it was good to hear clapping from the rest of the row.

While that was happening, a taichou shunpoed to the boundary of the grounds and was observing the students. He was a slim taichou with scruffy black hair and a short braided ponytail. His golden eyes narrowed as he witnessed the boy Senjumaru had handpicked step up to take his turn; the new so called "prodigy" after three decades looked like a weakling as he turned his rather youthful, feminine face away from the class, about to disappear again. But then he felt it and jerked back. He watched hungrily as the long-haired blonde manifested the Shakkahō in his palm and made it hover for a split second before it streaked towards the target; it was a direct hit, by way of explosion.

Quietly impressed, he shunpoed over to the side of their instructor and began having a hushed conversation with him, shrugging off the sensei's attempt to introduce him to the students. But the idiot wouldn't take no for an answer. "Students, this is Vega Ggio-taichou, of the 9th Division."

"Hokkaido, stop interrupting me and let us finish the conversation," Ggio firmly and antagonistically declared.

"But I-" The instructor tried to explain, but stopped as Ggio drew his Zanpakutō, Tigre Estoque: a normal katana with a light yellow handle and silver oval-shaped guard with slits going down the middle of both ends. However, it featured an unusual double-edged straight blade that's squared-off, effectively making it the size of a kodachi. "As you wish, taichou." The 9th Division head returned his sword to its sheath.

Everyone was stunned at Shinji's prowess, before they started applauding him, too. He didn't really care about the attention he was getting, so he ignored them. "Ha," he said to Grimmjow, before turning to Neliel and smirking.

She smirked back and crossed her arms. "I knew you could do it."

"Impressive," was all Grimmjow spat as he strode forward and took Shinji's place.

"Row 3 ready?" Their instructor questioned. This struck Neliel and Shinji as odd, as Vega-taichou was still here, wasn't he? They glanced to their sensei's side, but the taichou had apparently shunpoed off, seemingly finished his awfully short discussion with Hokkaido-sensei. "Begin!"

Driven by the desire to surpass Shinji, Grimmjow skipped the incantation completely and shouted: "_Hado No.31: Shakkahō!_"

He produced a perfect spell which hit the target much the same way Neliel's did.

An hour later, after Classes One and Two's advanced students practiced some spells which all hit the centre of the targets, the lesson was finished.

...

— Six months at the Academy —

_They had been training every day, since they first entered the Academy and it was paying off quite well. Shinji had achieved first contact with his Zanpakutō just two months ago, though she would not tell him her name straight away; it was only after a further month of training and Jinzen that he finally began to communicate properly with her. Since then, he had begun the most peculiar training he had ever undergone and just a few days ago finally obtained his Zanpakutō; Sakanade. We were told that because he had excelled in the Academy and achieved his Zanpakutō so quickly, he would be graduating in another six months; the fastest anyone had ever done. Not even Yoruichi's father could manage one year, instead finishing the curriculum in one and a half, and graduating in two._

_Lessons continued as normal, with all the students in the advanced and regular classes now being spoken to in their dreams and inner worlds by their Zanpakutō_.

— Another six months later —

"Congratulations Hirako Shinji; you have officially graduated from the Shin'ō Reijutsu Academy and are now a Shinigami of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!" The head teacher proclaimed happily, shaking Shinji's right hand merrily while holding a small scroll in his other.

Shinji, however, had a deadpan expression on his face which had crept across his features over his twelve months in the Academy and stayed there; but he still felt happy that he had finally become a Shinigami _and_ ahead of time. He strolled off the stage and went down to meet his friends, all of whom had smiles on their faces. Kisuke shook his hand and pulled him into a hug with a fake sob.

"Shinji, we're so proud of you; you're growing up before our eyes!" He stated playfully, still falsely crying until Shinji pulled himself free.

Then he was caught in another hug by Tessai and Hachigen, before he was even able to move away. "Well done, Shinji! You are the genius we all knew you were!" Tessai spoke, as Shinji squirmed away from Tessai's hug as well.

But not before two figures tackled him suddenly. It was Grimmjow and Neliel. The light blue-haired boy had an unusual cat-like grin on his face and Neliel spoke. "We're so happy for you, Shinji! You really are amazing!"

"Can't wait to show off my Zanpakutō," Grimmjow almost purred, ecstatic that his "brother" had graduated, but sad at the same time.

Shinji sighed. "Can you dickheads both get off me?"

When they got back to their feet, Kisuke helped him up while asking something appropriate. "Since we all know you're going to the 5th Division," he paused here, seeing Shinji double check the scroll and sure enough had _5th Division_ written on it. "Does Shutara-taichou have a fuku-taichou?"

The boy's eyes widened at the logic Kisuke exuded and thought for a moment. "I... don't think so. There wasn't a fuku-taichou with her that day she took me from class." They smiled; Shinji noticed this and bluntly asked: "Why dickheads?"

Yoruichi's grin grew wider. "It means you're next in line. Her fuku-taichou must have died somehow and she didn't request a replacement, so her handpicking you guarantees you have the position of taichou later on."

_Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this. Damn Shutara-taichou must have had this planned from day one_. Shinji raised an eyebrow.

Kisuke flapped a hand at him. "Don't worry too much, Hirako-san; Shutara-taichou shouldn't give you that much of a hard time." They all hugged him one last time, before he made his way to his new Division.

...

_She was back in the forest. Neliel was slowly learning more and more about this creature who knew her. Would she finally figure out who the mystery centaur in her dreams was?_

"_Welcome back, Neliel," a voice said from behind her and Neliel whirled around to find the battle-scared centaur standing there. The pressure slammed into her yet again but, this time, Neliel stood her ground. "I see you're getting along just nicely."_

_Smiling faintly, Neliel asked: "As thrilling as it may be for you, could you please stop coming up behind me?"_

"_Where would the fun in that be?" The centaur chuckled._

_Frustrated already, Neliel sighed heavily. "Can you tell me who you are after avoiding the issue all this time?"_

"_You know who I am; you choose not to listen."_

"_Where am I then?" Neliel had initially thought of protesting, but decided against it._

"_Your mind; this is your subconscious."_

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_I am part of you; I belong here," the centaur answered with a hint of amusement._

_Neliel muttered something. "Can you just tell me who you are outright?"_

_The centaur took a step forward. "Let me ask you something. Why are you training to become a Shinigami?"_

"_W-what do you mean?" Neliel was caught off-guard._

"_Why do you want to become a Shinigami?" The centaur repeated._

"_I want to..."_

_The centaur scuffed at the forest dirt with a hoof. "Why are you hesitating? Are you unsure, or do you not know? If you cannot answer me, I cannot give you the answers you long for. I'll know when you're ready and you'll be ready to hear my name..."_

...

— 5th Division office —

Shinji had knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response, so he assumed Shutara-taichou was out and waited for her to return. He knew nothing about the 5th Division, except it had no fuku-taichou because of an apparent death and Shutara-taichou never requested a replacement. As Shinji mulled over this, he heard footsteps behind him; turning around, he saw Shutara-taichou walking towards him. "Shutara-taichou, you know me already as Hirako Shinji. I have been assigned to your Division, as you planned, Ma'm!"

Shutara-taichou acknowledged her new recruit and nodded. "Hirako, I've heard quite a lot about you; they say you're a genius, a prodigy and that you obtained your Zanpakutō eight months ago in the Academy," she half asked, half stated.

"Yes, Ma'm!" Shinji nodded.

Senjumaru studied him for a few more moments, before walking through the office doors with Shinji following a few steps behind. "Due to the 3rd and 4th Seats being occupied already, I will offer you the position of 5th Seat. Acceptable?" She good-humouredly asked.

Trying not to give away his shock, Shinji responded: "Yes, Ma'm!"

"Very good," she teased. "You are dismissed; I will have my 3rd and 4th Seats walk you through your duties."

Shinji bowed to her and nodded yet again. "Yes, Ma'm! Thank you, Ma'm!" _5th Seat? I can't believe she would put me in that high a position already... Wait, is she testing me? Trying to see if I can handle being taichou later on? Everything I worked for will be for nothing if I don't prove myself now_, he thought, walking towards the 3rd and 4th Seats' office. _I don't remember seeing any paperwork in her office_, he recalled as he continued walking. _Does she do the fuku-taichou's paperwork as well as her own? No one should have to do that much_, he decided sarcastically.

He approached the door of the 3rd and 4th Seats' office and knocked. A split second later, a voice came from the other side: "Come in!"

Shinji slid the door open, walked in and first saw a tall, lean man with long, wavy, blonde hair and purple eyes getting up from his seat. He realized that it must have been the 3rd Seat since the 4th Seat was still at his desk. "My name is Hirako Shinji. I was just assigned to this Division and Shutara-taichou told me to come to the two of you for a run through of what is required of me," Shinji explained, bowing to them.

The 3rd Seat waved a welcome and put his hand out. "It's nice to meet you, Hirako. I'm Ōtoribashi Hiraku, the 3rd Seat," he smiled.

Shinji blinked in surprise. "Ōtoribashi? Are you a relative of Rōjūrō's?"

Hiraku laughed. "Ah, so you've met my little brother, have you?"

"Yeah," Shinji deadpanned. "We were in the Academy together."

This information amused Hiraku. "Oh? Tch, Rose always did like to take his time." He snorted in amusement. "That's my little brother for ya."

The 4th Seat finally got up and introduced himself, just as Shinji shook Hiraku's hand. "Hatanaka Takahiro, at your service, child prodigy." He shook Shinji's hand as well, while the boy reddened in embarrassment. "So Shinji, which seat did taichou place you in?" Takahiro asked.

Shinji glanced up at the 4th Seat and sighed, before lowering his eyes. "5th Seat," he stated without any indication that he was bragging, but both men's eyes still widened.

"Really?" They inquired, looking at each other briefly, while Shinji merely nodded.

They smirked at each other. "Being the genius you are, I suppose she did the right thing by putting you in a seated officer's position," Hiraku replied, still smiling.

"No one has ever graduated in a year; that's like a world record for the Academy!" Takahiro stated.

They both patted him on the back and exclaimed in unison: "Congratulations!"

Hiraku and Takahiro walked Shinji through the entire Division, talking about this and that and though it seemed boring, Shinji tried to pay as much attention as he could, to make sure he wouldn't get lost and have to ask someone where to go. When the tour ended, they made their way back to the office. "Alright Shinji, your first assignment is to complete a bunch of paperwork in your new office! Fun, right? You're all set, so if you have any questions about anything, just feel free to ask us. Okay?" Takahiro gave him an unusual smirk which was reminiscent of a shark's grin.

"Thank you, 3rd Seat Ōtoribashi and 4th Seat Hatanaka; I hope I'll see you both again," Shinji agreed.

"Just use our first names; no need to bother about formalities," Hiraku smiled.

"I'll try to remember that, Hiraku and Takahiro," Shinji glanced back at them, bowing slightly as he went.

...

— Back at the Academy —

"Neliel! Grimmjow!" They were suddenly interrupted by Hisagi's voice and he was running towards them. He had a piece of paper in his hands and he handed it to the pair. "It's from Gengoro-sensei," he said.

"Is it important?" Neliel asked, looking concerned as they looked at the paper, with the others peeking over their shoulders.

"_Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow and Odelschwanck Neliel Tu__, please report to the Zanjutsu Training facility, Hall 6, immediately after lunch_," was all the note said. It held no clue as to what they were being summoned for.

"He didn't tell you anything?" Grimmjow gruffly asked Hisagi. His personality had taken a huge swing from the kind boy he used to be, to a still loyal, but now relentless and gruff figure that had emerged after Shinji graduated. Everyone knew it was because Shinji drove the poor boy mad and rightly guessed he wanted his revenge against his rival, against the insolence that had made Neliel crack one day and cry; but Grimmjow had been there to comfort her and would forever stay by her side.

Shūhei shook his head. "No, it seems important, thought."

Grimmjow shrugged. "Then I suppose we'll find out later."

...

During lunch, Neliel and Grimmjow wolfed down their food and proceeded to the specified location, not before acceding to demands from their friends to tell them what it was about. They too were eager to find out what this special meeting was all about. Possible scenarios ran through Grimmjow's mind, each sounding more unlikely than the one before.

They opened the door to class 6 and entered — then stopped. About twenty heads turned and stared at them. "Uh..." Grimmjow stuttered, taken aback at the sight of other students they hadn't been expecting. There were around twenty students spread out throughout the hall, all seated and facing the same direction, where they saw Ounabara Gengoro standing with a stern look on his face. They recognized some of them from their Zanjutsu class, but others they didn't know.

"Ah! Jaegerjaquez, Odelschwanck, you're here. Hurry and sit down, please." The pair hurried over to an empty spot and sat down.

"Now, you all must be wondering why you are here, and why there are so few of you. For the fifth years, you have been split because we cannot accommodate so many of you in one class for the purpose of this class. And as for those fourth, even second years," he said as he looked at Grimmjow and Neliel, causing a few heads to turn towards them. "It is because we have deemed you ready. We have no third years though, unfortunately."

So they were deemed ready. Ready for what?

"As to why you're here, it's because it is time for you to receive your Zanpakutō." That got everyone's attention and now they were all giving their full undivided attention to Gengoro.

"As you well know, no two Shinigami's reiatsu are the same. Similarly, each and every one of you has a Zanpakutō spirit within you, and each spirit is unique; no two Shinigami wield the same spirit. Your Zanpakutō spirit resides within a Shinigami's mind and it represents…" As Gengoro launched into a long explanation about Zanpakutō, Grimmjow and Neliel listened with rapt attention.

Receiving a Zanpakutō meant that a student would soon be considered a proper Shinigami, which meant they were getting close to graduation and for them to only be second years…

They listened as Gengoro talked about how a Zanpakutō usually attempted to speak to a Shinigami through their dreams…

Suddenly, they had an epiphany and almost scowled. While the centaur and panther continued to appear in their dreams, they still had yet to tell Grimmjow and Neliel who they were; instead, they continued asking them of their purpose in being Shinigami and they still hadn't been able to give a satisfactory answer.

Not only that, they occasionally talked about other mundane, completely unrelated stuff, probably just to piss them off, including talking about their perfectly friendly relationship with each other. Could that panther and centaur be their Zanpakutō spirits? And was that a purr Grimmjow just heard in his head? Determined to know more, the two second years refocused their attention back to Gengoro.

"Now, to obtain your Zanpakutō, you must first be able to create your sword. To do this, you have to solidify your reiatsu in the form of a sword. Don't worry about its shape. Its shape has already been set by your Zanpakutō spirit as well as your soul. Once you do that, you will be able to maintain it almost effortlessly. Now proceed."

Although it was a new thing for the students, it wasn't as difficult a process as Gengoro-sensei made it to be, and pretty soon, everyone was done. The first thing that the pair noticed was that although all the students had regular looking swords, they deferred in size and design.

Grimmjow's sword looked like a normal katana. The tsuka and sheath were light blue. When he unsheathed it, the blade resembled a rigid, crooked "S" and was the regular silver colour and the hilt had a miniature panther head on it.

Neliel's could be recognized straight away as an odachi, since it was just about four feet long. Its hilt was light green and sheath green. The tsuba was in the shape of a pair of crescent moons that joined together at the back.

As they inspected their blades, they saw Gengoro-sensei moving around and checking to see if everyone was done. When he was done, he returned to the front of the class and said: "Alright. Now that everyone has obtained their Zanpakutō, it is now time for you to learn how to contact your Zanpakutō spirit. As I've mentioned, your Zanpakutō might have tried to contact you in the past, usually while you were sleeping. This is because you need a quiet, stable environment and sleeping is one of them."

"But obviously, I'm not going to ask you to sleep. Instead, you will attempt to forcibly enter your Zanpakutō spirit's world through a technique called Jinzen. To do this, you must place your sword on your lap and meditate. At the same time, focus on your Zanpakutō. Once you are in a calm enough state, you should be able to enter your inner world. Do remember that your Zanpakutō is a being unto itself and thus has a mind of its own. To be able to wield its power properly, you must treat it well, or it might not assist you in battle."

"The first time you do it, it's not going to be easy, so not everyone will succeed. But don't worry. Just keep trying and you'll get it eventually..." Once Gengoro-sensei was done briefing, everyone switched to a cross-legged seating position. Imitating everyone else, Grimmjow and Neliel cleared their minds and began to concentrate. They didn't know how long it was, but they slowly began to feel calmer and calmer...

...

"Welcome back, Neliel."

"~Grimmjow."

They heard their Zanpakutō greet them.

Neliel and Grimmjow looked around in their separate inner worlds and found themselves back in the forest or mountains — their minds. There standing in front of them were none other than the strange nameless centaur and panther. The sky in Neliel's inner world was overcast, something that had been going on for awhile, but when she asked the centaur, he never gave a proper answer. And Grimmjow's skies were full of black, angry storm clouds, pouring rain, flashing lightning and rumbling thunder.

"Back of your own will this time?" The Zanpakutō spirits asked.

"You know, even if you couldn't or didn't want to tell me your name, you could have at least told me you were my Zanpakutō." Grimmjow spoke for the pair of them, as if his bond with Neliel enabled him to sense her reluctance to converse with her own Zanpakutō.

A barely perceptible smile flickered across both spirits' faces. "Why would we do that?" They didn't confirm Grimmjow's words, but their responses were confirmation enough.

"Are you finally going to tell us who you are now?" Grimmjow asked hopefully.

"That depends," the panther rumbled, padding forward. "Can you answer us?" The two paused. They didn't know what answer to give. Every answer they had given up until now didn't seem to satisfy the Zanpakutō. But then, the panther added: "You've given us the correct answer before. However, the answer is not what's important. Rather, it's knowing why it is your answer that's important."

So they'd gotten it correct before? Well, that didn't help, either; that was almost a hundred different possibilities.

"Do you remember your first reason for becoming a Shinigami?"

They frowned as they thought back to over a year ago, when Neliel and Grimmjow had been killed by Hollows in the living world and were sent to Soul Society by Shihōin-taichou and Kyōraku-taichou. What had changed? The pair had met the Shihōin and Izuru; the Shihōin had adopted Neliel and the Izuru adopted Grimmjow. What was it that Grimmjow had discussed with Neliel?

"_Let's become Shinigami. Maybe then we can protect other souls from being unnecessarily killed by Hollows in Rukongai. Let's not allow anymore innocents to suffer the same fate as we did..._"

"We wanted to protect the afterlives of others. We wanted to make sure no one had to unnecessarily lose their lives," Neliel finally spoke up.

"Has anything changed since then?" the centaur asked, pleased that Neliel had started speaking again.

Neliel thought about everything that had happened since then — their acceptance into the Academy, most of them entering the advanced class, Shinji's progressively worsening behaviour, the day he made her cry, Grimmjow's vow to protect her and Shinji's graduation...

"Nothing has changed since then. I still want to protect others from suffering."

Meanwhile, the centaur gazed at the overcast skies, while the panther stared at the storm-filled blackness. "Do you know why it's like this, Neliel?"

"~Grimmjow?"

Surprised by the change in topic, they blinked. "Huh?"

"A Zanpakutō resides in a Shinigami's inner world. They feel what their Shinigami feels, what their Shinigami think. The different weather conditions at the moment are reflections of your moods and we haven't seen the sun for about a year now. The pair of you have gotten lost and we won't be wielded by those who are lost. It's been this way ever since Shinji broke Neliel's heart."

Neliel gasped quietly, while Grimmjow snorted in annoyance. "Please, don't say that name," Neliel pleaded.

"We will," the panther snapped, causing Grimmjow to growl back at him.

Instead of carrying on their tormenting, the centaur and panther just watched them. "You still like him, don't you?" Neliel nodded. The Zanpakutō lowered their heads to look at their wielders again. "Not only that, you're worried about him. Don't argue," they cut in sharply when Neliel looked ready to protest. "As much as you wish to protect others, so too do we wish to protect you, our wielders. We believe you are ready, and you can now hear our names. Remember though, that this is not the end. We want you to be able to utilize our full power, but you have to prove yourselves to us. Only then, will we teach you more, but it will not be easy. Use us with confidence and pride and we will make sure you will never fight alone. Are you ready?"

"Of course." Grimmjow and Neliel spoke in unison.

"Right now, though, all you need to know is our names. When the time comes, we will tell you how to call us forth. Now let me ask you one last time. Why are you a Shinigami?"

"To be strong and protect others," the pair answered without hesitation at last.

"Move forward, you two. Don't dwell on the past. Concentrate on the present and train for the future. Now remember our names," the Zanpakutō declared. "My name is Gamuza."

"~Pantera."

...

**A/N**: Onto the toned down graduation of Yoruichi and the others. Monologue will be given for Grimmjow and Neliel's graduation, so don't worry.


	5. New Taichou part 1

**A/N**: Here's a three parter, everyone. The taichou test occurs in part 3.

_**Chapter 4: New Taichou part 1**_

— Two years later —

_Grimmjow and Neliel passed the graduation exam with full marks in all their written tests and showed incredible fighting skill by coming out on top in all three practical tests, excluding those who entered the specialized Divisions. They showed astonishing progress in their time at the Academy and were able to complete the year after Shinji graduated. Their instructors believed they would one day play a pivotal role in the running of Soul Society_.

"Congratulations Shihōin Yoruichi; you have officially graduated from the Shin'ō Reijutsu Academy and are now a Shinigami of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!" The head teacher announced happily, shaking Yoruichi's right hand eagerly and handing her a small scroll in the other.

Yoruichi smiled at him and headed off the stage. She was met not only by her graduation friends, but the new 3rd Seat of the 5th Division and the dual 6th Seats of the 13th Division. The Shihōin princess gave each of her friends a hug and Neliel noticed Grimmjow giving Shinji a dirty look, but didn't say anything. "Congratulation Yoruichi; which Division are you going to?" Shinji drawled in his slightly improved, yet still quite disrespectful manner.

"I'm going to the Onmitsukidō and was told I'll be starting as the 7th Seat, but will end up mostly working at the 2nd Division." She smiled at him, before happily glancing at Kisuke and Soi Fon.

"I'm going into the Onmitsukidō as well, as the 9th Seat," Kisuke lowered his head slightly so his hair cast shadows over his eyes, before looking up with a perverted smile on his face.

"Unfortunately, I won't be seeing you guys very often, as I'm going to the Kidō Corps." Tessai explained, downcast.

They turned to him and sighed sadly. "You're a talented Shinigami, Tessai, so don't worry. You'll be the taichou of the Kidō Corps in no time; then you can come back and visit any time you like," Shinji encouraged.

Tessai smiled and nodded in response. "Thanks Shinji; good luck on your promotion to 3rd Seat."

Shinji smirked deviously. "I've already got the position." They looked at him and smiled again. "Because I-" He attempted to explain, but Yoruichi cut him off.

"I've gotta go; see you guys later!" She called as she grabbed Kisuke and Soi Fon by their hands and dragged them off.

...

— Another two years later, in the 1st Division —

_They hadn't seen any of their friends since graduation, except for Shiba Isshin, who was promoted to fuku-taichou of the 13th Division under Ukitake-taichou a month ago. Shinji had received the 5th Division's taichou spot almost four month after he'd been promoted to fuku-taichou, so it was quite a while between their promotions. Isshin had told him about the fuku-taichou meetings, which ended up being one of the longest conversations in Shinji's life; it was also there that he learned about Sōsuke Aizen becoming a fuku-taichou alongside Isshin. No matter how hard he portrayed himself otherwise, Shinji knew there was something not right about Aizen and he felt a sense of wariness._

_Aside from that, not only Grimmjow, but Neliel as well, were set to receive taichou positions mere weeks after achieving Bankai, though none knew about it, it seemed. Shinji couldn't help but be at all of her promotions throughout the years, including her becoming fuku-taichou of the 9th a few months ago. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that he ought to apologize to her for what he did before he graduated, but something kept holding him back._

_And now, the sou-taichou had ordered a meeting_.

The rare air of excitement was barely noticeable in the Assembly Hall, but it was still there. After all, seldom did the sou-taichou call for the taichou to assemble without their fuku-taichou; such circumstances were meetings that had objectives not meant for their ears.

Silence reigned when a loud crack echoed in the hall as Yamamoto took his seat and rapped the floor with his cane. "Let's begin this meeting," his gruff voice rang out.

Half an hour and four other items completed, the reason for them being called became apparent at the next objective. "Our last item: setting a date for the taichou test."

The only one whom didn't seem all that surprised was Starrk Coyote. As for the others... such a thing was new to them. They'd never heard of the Captain-Commander ever doing something like this; most of the time, only those who took part in judging were the only ones who knew his or her identity until the new taichou was revealed.

Yamamoto continued, seemingly ignoring the surprised looks of the other taichou. "I believe we have been presented with an unusual and unprecedented circumstance. As of a week ago, two applicants were submitted to undergo the Proficiency test for the position of taichou of the 10th Division. Shinji, Starrk, I'll leave the brief to you two."

"Yes, sou-taichou. I will go first," Shinji drawled. "Fellow taichou, one month ago, Sung-Sun-fukutaichou approached me with a request to submit her 3rd Seat, Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow, who has held that position for four years, as an applicant to be taichou of the 10th Division. After observing him, I have deemed his qualities and leadership skills to be satisfactory and his power well beyond a Shinigami with his amount of experience, so I agreed to her request, seconded by Starrk-taichou, Harribel-taichou and Ukitake-taichou."

Shinji looked at Coyote and the latter took over. "Odelschwanck-fukutaichou has been my lieutenant for the past three years and, before that, my 3rd Seat for near on twelve months. Despite her… melancholy states at times, she has proven to be respectful, loyal, a strong leader, well liked by the entire Division, and willing to strive for something she's set her mind to. Additionally, she's unknowingly been acting at almost a fuku-taichou capacity in those twelve months before she was given the rank; hence I believe she is ready to take on a larger role. Ukitake-taichou, Kyōraku-taichou and Shihōin-taichou have seconded the nomination."

"As this is the first time we've two nominees for one taichou's position, please raise your objections if you believe either nominee should be rejected," Yamamoto announced.

"Being eligible of becoming a taichou at such a young age? My, they both sound scary," Kyōraku said with a small smile. "Bankai?" he asked.

"Four years," both taichou spoke almost in unison.

"That's impossible!" Neji declared in shock. "How in the world did they achieve Bankai in less than two decades of being a Shinigami?"

"Either way, that doesn't sound like much time to develop their Bankai," Kyōraku reasoned in return.

"They have both shown great leadership qualities in their respective roles and have shown immense potential based on their performances as well as the speed at which they have attained their Bankai. I believe they both will be able to develop at a much quicker rate than usual," Ukitake said, since he seconded both nominations. "Also, they both have a history of working with the 10th Division."

"Well, only one of them can become taichou," Kyōraku said with a nod of his head.

"You two, please remember that such information is confidential and restricted to taichou only," Yamamoto spoke sternly. "Any other objections?" he asked the rest. "None? In that case, both nominees will undergo the taichou proficiency test in a month's time and will be judged by Unohana-taichou, Kyōraku-taichou and myself. I now declare this meeting over!"

...

_Neliel reached their training spot and was unsurprised to find Grimmjow already there, sitting on the grass with a released Pantera on his lap and meditating. Ever since they both became fuku-taichou, they saw a sharp drop in their time together, because of their additional duties and intense manifestation training. In addition to their old responsibilities, they had to attend fuku-taichou meetings, full council meetings and assist in the paperwork, amongst other things._

_Overall, it cut their free time by a substantial amount, but Neliel didn't mind, since Grimmjow was still able to create time for her. She also knew he was doing his best and she didn't want to become unreasonable and over attached to him._

_One thing that irked her slightly though, was that shortly after becoming a fuku-taichou, Grimmjow had started doing nothing but meditate during training and in complete silence. It wasn't the meditating that irritated her; they didn't spar as often as they used to anymore, since they were so well acquainted with each other's fighting styles that they might end up getting too used to it if they fought against others._

_Rather, it was the face that he refused to tell her why he was meditating. But she knew what he was doing, anyway; he was performing Jinzen, which meant he was communicating with his Zanpakutō, but he'd been doing it for almost six months straight, which was longer than necessary. That meant that he was hiding something._

_Giving up, Neliel approached him and plopped down next to him, making sure not to disturb him. She could feel his strong reiatsu swirling around him as he meditated, its flow unrestricted in his meditative state. She let her own reiatsu relax as she thought of her previous day's talk with Starrk-taichou._

_As soon as she thought about that, she suddenly felt Grimmjow's reiatsu envelop her, as if providing her with a comforting presence. She smirked slightly and pushed her reiatsu back against him and Grimmjow responded by placing his hand over hers. "Getting distracted is a sure sign of a failed meditation," she stated._

_Grimmjow opened his eyes and looked at her, a huge grin on his face. He leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "As a matter of fact, I didn't get distracted from my meditation. I was just finishing." He seemed overjoyed about something._

"_Finished? Finished what? What's with that stupid grin on your face? I doubt it's because of me."_

"_You'll see. And you're partly right about that," Grimmjow answered. "But what about you? Something appears to be bothering you."_

"_It's not exactly troubling, but it's disturbing and a little much to take in right now," Neliel responded. Then, she told Grimmjow everything Coyote had revealed to her, about how a Quincy had crushed Hollow bait in a town in the living world which attracted the shark, wolf and tiger Hollows that killed her, Grimmjow and Shinji, right up to their being konsoed and their arrival in Junrinan._

"_Starrk-taichou looked close to tears when he talked about it," Neliel said solemnly, her eyes shining faintly with tears._

_Grimmjow listened silently, seething in anger at that bastard Quincy. It all sounded quite crazy, but he'd always thought they'd been killed by Hollows merely looking for a snack, but through Neliel's expression, he could see it would be nothing short of cruel for him to interrogate Starrk-taichou further. "Do you hate the Quincy for doing this?" he asked quietly._

_Neliel shook her head. "Some part of me thinks I should, but I can't bring myself to do it. Weren't we guilty of abandoning others as well? Our families are all alone now." She smiled sadly. "I wonder how they are."_

_Grimmjow smirked teasingly. "So you admit that I changed your world?"_

_Neliel gave a small laugh. "I think I changed yours, idiot. You wouldn't have survived without me."_

"_But enough about me. You mentioned something about completing something. Mind telling me what you're talking about?"_

_At that, Grimmjow's grin cracked wider. "It's… You know what? I think it's best you see it for yourself." Grabbing his Zanpakutō with one hand, he grabbed Neliel's hand with the other and helped her up. Then, he stretched out his arm and pointed his Zanpakutō forward._

_Nothing happened for a moment. Neliel looked at Grimmjow, but remained silent when she saw the look of tense concentration on his face. Then, she gave a start when something materialized in front of them, just as Grimmjow relaxed and started panting slightly._

_A wiry, black panther had just materialized in front of them._

"_Well done, Grimmjow," the panther spoke with a rumbling, deep voice. "Don't worry about feeling drained, though. The first time is always the most taxing. You'll find it easier subsequently."_

"_Neliel, meet Pantera," Grimmjow puffed with a huge smile._

_Neliel's eyes widened in shock. "Pantera? Your Zanpakutō? He's nothing like you!" she blurted out. "He's polite, for starters!"_

_Grimmjow blanched; Neliel had just pushed Pantera's 'anger' button. "Young lady," the Zanpakutō spirit roared. "I'll have you know I am nothing like this boy was before Shinji broke him!"_

"_S-sorry, Pantera," Neliel instantly dropped to a kneeling position. She started to rise to her feet, but froze when she realized what was going on and chuckled inwardly at having beaten Grimmjow to the punch regarding Zanpakutō spirit manifestation. "You managed to materialize your Zanpakutō in our world. Does that mean...?"_

_Grimmjow smirked, nodding. "I'm going to start training to achieve Bankai!"_


	6. New Taichou part 2

**QueenPersephoneofHades**: Yep, Pantera's one irritated kitty! Shinji did a number on poor Grimmjow alright, but now he has to make up his mind whether to apologize to Neliel. It doesn't help that his Zanpakutō isn't making it easy for him. Read on, my dear friend!

**A/N**: Here's the second part. Enjoy!

_**Chapter 4: New Taichou part 2**_

_When Grimmjow next appeared in his inner world, a few days after he and Neliel got together, the first thing he heard was Pantera's coarse voice. "You know, if you get any more cheerful, I'll have to make you angry. This sun is a royal pain in the ****."_

_Grimmjow squinted at him, as the sun shining on his face seemed exceptionally bright, brighter than he remembered. "That's none of your business," he spat with a smile. He found it strange that his Zanpakutō, which was shadow based, seemed to hate sunny skies; because even with sunlight, there were still shadows, yet there were absolutely no shadows in his inner world, which explained Pantera's mood._

_Pantera regarded him for a moment. "Glad to see you're back to normal, Grimmjow. Tell me, why are you here?"_

"_I wish to become stronger, so I can do more to protect others."_

_Pantera nodded. "Noble, but are you willing to die for them?"_

"_If I'm stronger, there's no need for me to, is there?"_

"_True, true, but you never know," Pantera replied. "Unfortunately, the three moves I've taught you so far is everything that you need to know at this level."_

_Grimmjow blanched. "That's it?" he blurted out._

"_Of course not. Learning a move and increasing its power are two different things. You're not listening to me. Think about what I just said."_

_Grimmjow pondered over Pantera's words for a moment. Then, realization dawned on him. "At this level? You don't mean…"_

"_Yes, I do. I've told you before that I will only teach you something new if and when I am ready, and now, I believe you are ready to learn Bankai. Be warned, though. Training for Bankai is not like training your Shikai, where you can learn new moves in days and master them in weeks. It may take you months, years or even decades to learn and master. During this time, I will not go easy on you, and if I deem my confidence misjudged, I will refuse to teach you any longer until further notice. Do you still wish to continue?"_

_Grimmjow looked at Pantera like he was crazy. "What kind of bullshit is that? Of course I wish to carry on."_

_Pantera's lips curved upwards slightly, almost as if he was smirking. "We'll see. Now, your first part, and usually the longest, of training for Bankai is materialization. That is — you must bring me out from your inner world and into the physical world. While I willingly lend you my power, to use Bankai, you must prove that you are capable of wielding it. All our fights so far have been in here, on my terms. You must force me to fight in the physical world, on your terms. If you aren't even capable of that, then you have no business learning Bankai._

_Should you succeed in that stage, if you wish to use me, you must prove that you are stronger than me. Fight me, and defeat me. Only then, will you be able to use Bankai." Then, Pantera's posture seemed to relax a little. "You hold more power than you imagine, Grimmjow, although that doesn't mean you're going to have an easier time. Are you ready?" Grimmjow nodded with conviction._

"_Good. Let's begin!"_

_..._

"_It's a good thing we found this nice, secluded place, isn't it?" Grimmjow told Neliel. "It's so much better than our last area. It's enclosed and I highly doubt anyone knows about it."_

_Neliel shook her head, but smiled all the same. "Just don't flatten this place like you did the last one."_

_Grimmjow waved it off. "Pantera didn't specify how I must defeat him, so I thought… He also never did say I couldn't use Kidō until after I did. Well, it's not my fault the Kidō missed and destroyed the place instead."_

"_You're lucky you weren't arrested for the damage that was done," Neliel scolded, lightly hitting him on the arm. "Or that you didn't hit me as well."_

"_Well, you would've obviously been able to dodge it," Grimmjow reasoned._

_They were on the lookout for a new place to train because Grimmjow, in his attempt to defeat Pantera in order to learn Bankai, unleashed a powerful Kidō that ended up missing and destroying part of their secluded training area in Rukongai. Thankfully there were no innocent citizens around. It solved his need to restrain his reiatsu though, because unlike normal training, where Shinigami could suppress their reiatsu, Bankai training required them to use more power, and that could easily result in innocent casualties._

_So, training had to be stopped for a week while Grimmjow searched for a new, secluded training spot, helped by Neliel. They couldn't go any further away from Seireitei due to the time they'd take, so they decided to try finding a place in Seireitei instead, however unlikely that was. Surprisingly, they actually managed to find a perfect training spot._

_It was found through sheer luck, actually. When leaving the 5th Division one day, he spotted a black cat with yellow luminous eyes skulking around just outside the division. He recognized it as Shiba Kukaku's cat. "What in the world are you doing here? Come to think of it, how did you even get in anyway?" he asked it curiously. It merely stared back, and when Grimmjow tried to catch it, it ran away._

_Huffing in irritation, Grimmjow decided to chase after it, wanting to return it to Kukaku. He thought it wouldn't be a problem catching it, but surprisingly, he found it near impossible to. Every time he almost got his hands on it, it somehow managed to twist out of his grasp._

_On it went for almost half an hour. He would've given up long ago, but every time he did, it would turn around to look at it and, if it could speak, Grimmjow was sure it would be taunting him. It was making him feel completely stupid and useless, though; he couldn't even catch a stupid cat._

_Eventually, he found himself at the base of the Sōkyoku Hill, which was overlooking the impressive looking Senzaiku. There, the cat stopped and stared tauntingly at him again. He slowed down and slowly approached it, afraid it would run away again. When he got close enough, he lunged. Surprisingly, this time, it didn't run away, and he gratefully gathered it in his arms. Before he left, he took a moment to stare at the majestic looking Sōkyoku Hill. Pity it was used for executions. He wouldn't want to ever be up there witnessing one._

_Just before he was about to leave, he spotted something that made him pause. It was a small outcropping of rock somewhere beneath the hill. When he looked closer, he could see some sort of cave there. If he had been standing anywhere but where he was right now, he wouldn't be able to see it. He'd gone past the Hill without ever seeing the cave before._

_It looked too small to use for training, but he decided to check it out anyway. When he got up there, he got the shock of his life. Right before him was the largest cavern he'd ever seen. It was perfect for training, especially for his Bankai training. Eventually, when he brought Neliel to this place, he realized his reiatsu remained undetected from anyone outside; unless he was using most of his power, they couldn't detect his reiatsu._

_Hence, that became their new training area, exclusive only to the two of them and with no restrictions; Grimmjow could easily carry on his Bankai training_.

...

_Present..._

— Inside Central 46's chambers —

"What is this about, fools?" Mayuri questioned coldly.

"Did we give you permission to speak? You're here to be interrogated; you are not permitted to speak unless it is to answer our questions. Now consider the situation you're in, criminal!" One of the central members declared.

"Don't expect my apologies," he spat, refusing to lower his head.

"What were you doing for the last month?" Another member asked forcefully.

"An experiment," Mayuri responded sadistically.

"Was it for your Arrancarfication research?" Yet another demanded, causing Mayuri's eyes to widen angrily.

"Who told you that I Arrancarfied a-" he started, but another member interrupted him.

"You went to Fugai to see the results of your evil Arrancarfication experiment on a Quincy. Is that not accurate?"

"Who was it?" he questioned angrily.

"You have no right to ask questions!" One of the others shot back at him.

"Was it Shiba-fukutaichou?" Mayuri demanded, looking at each of them.

"This is your second warning, criminal! Do it again and we'll add it to your list of crimes!" was the only reply he received.

"Reporting in! We've found evidence that indicates he has Arrancarfied a Quincy!" The man told Central 46.

"It's decided then. I shall declare your sentence! 10th Seat of the 12th Division, Kurotsuchi Mayuri! For researching forbidden material and carrying out an experiment on it, deceiving your comrades and seriously injuring a ryoka; you shall be jailed in the Maggot's Nest for high felons! Finally, the poor ryoka victim of your heinous research shall be exterminated as if he was a Hollow immediately!" The head of Central 46 declared.

...

"Damn it all!" Isshin yelled. He shunpoed quite rapidly, even while holding the unconscious form of his Quincy 'brother', Ishida Ryūken. But no, he was not a Quincy anymore; now, he was an Arrancar. The base genes were still Quincy and Isshin hoped above everything else that Ryūken would still be able to use his bow, even though Arrancar DNA was now dominant; he also wanted forgiveness from Ryūken for dragging him into Seireitei in the first place.

"That bastard Kurotsuchi! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN MAYURI WOULD BE ABLE TO SNIFF OUT A QUINCY!" The anguished scream tore from his throat as he lost concentration and tripped over a rock. His tight grip on Ryūken faltered and the Quincy-Arrancar hybrid fell from his arms. "No!" He cried and readjusted himself just in time with a shunpo, kneeling at Ryūken's side. Isshin felt completely and utterly ashamed of himself; to the point where he was willing to give up being a Shinigami in order to help Ryūken recover.

Blankly he stared at the other's face noticing, not for the first time, a complete bone fragment of a wolf's jaws; the fragment had formed over the Quincy's own mouth. Isshin instinctively knew the rest of Ryūken's race would see fit to make him an outcast. There was no room for abnormalities in the Quincy; Isshin recalled Ryūken quoting that to him one time. If the rest of his kind saw Ishida like that, they would most certainly _not_ hesitate in killing him.

"You look like you need some help," a feminine-toned voice quipped sassily. The speaker was a young orange-haired woman. "May I?"

Isshin automatically glanced up at the sound of her voice and nodded blankly. _She's so captivating_, he thought.

...

Becoming increasingly pissed off with his Zanpakutō, Shinji decided to sort things out with Sakanade, so he found a secluded corner on the 5th Division's compound and sat down, his katana on his lap. While it wasn't a necessity to enter his inner world if all he wanted to do was have a chat, he was going in there anyway since he wanted to have a heart-to-heart with his Zanpakutō spirit. He began to calm himself down so as to enter his inner world and vaguely wondered if it was possible for he and Sakanade to reach the next level, since the only reason the sou-taichou allowed him to take over as 5th Division taichou was that Senjumaru was promoted to the Royal Guard, despite him not having achieved Bankai at the time; but the sou-taichou made a concession for him.

"**Yes, it is**," a lilting female voice suddenly spoke.

Shinji opened his eyes and once again found himself upside down in his recognizable inner world. Right now, he was standing the wrong way up in a village. While he still conversed regularly with Sakanade, this was the first time he'd entered his inner world ever since becoming taichou and he immediately noticed that strong, turbulent winds blew through the area and the skies were cloudy looking.

"**Not much of a change, is it?**" Sakanade commented when she saw that Shinji had taken note of the weather.

"_Whose fault is that?_" Shinji snapped back at the humanoid fox spirit.

"**Shinji, I'm not willing to have my heart broken again; it was already broken once by Hyōrinmaru before when we were human in our first lives. I can't take that**-"

Shinji boredly fiddled with his taichou's haori, before interrupting. "_For once in your life, Sakanade, just shut up. I don't care what happened before when you were human. There are only two things I care about right now: reaching Bankai and apologizing to Neliel. I will apologize to Neliel if it's the last thing I do, so don't restrain me any longer. After that, we'll work on achieving Bankai. Sound good?_"

Sakanade stared at her wielder for a long period of time, debating on what to say. Finally, she gave up. "**Very well, Shinji, I will submit to your terms. Make one mistake in your materialization of me and I will be harsher on you as a result. I will not restrain you any longer**." She sealed the Shikai stage Zanpakutō that she had been holding to Shinji's throat and withdrew it.


	7. New Taichou part 3

_**Chapter 4: New Taichou part 3**_

Neliel gulped nervously as three pairs of eyes stared at her as she stood before the sou-taichou and two of the most senior taichou in Soul Society: Kyōraku Shunsui and Unohana Retsu. Right now, talking seemed harder than she thought. The chamber they were in was a huge chamber somewhere in the 1st Division. As far as she knew, Grimmjow had gone before her sometime in the morning, although Neliel had no idea how the other Shinigami did.

She was feeling a little queasy, more so out of nerves than anything else. Right now, she was regretting ever telling Starrk-taichou that she wanted to become a taichou. "Tell us a little more about yourself," Kyōraku commented. Out of the three of them, he was the one that seemed the least intimidating. Although Unohana didn't have her trademark withering look when she was angry, she looked scary enough.

The interview was, according to the note she was given, the first of three stages to the taichou's proficiency test. The second was when she showed them her Bankai, and the third was when one of the three judging taichou would engage her in battle. According to Ukitake, the last test was rarely done unless the panel had reason to believe she wasn't capable of being a taichou. She hoped she wouldn't have to undergo the last test.

Clearing her throat, she thought briefly of Grimmjow and the encouraging kiss he'd given her the day before, and she couldn't help but smile a little. Feeling more confident, she began the interview. Only Unohana or Kyōraku asked the questions; Yamamoto merely sat there and watched Neliel, probably as a way to make any potential taichou candidates squirm. Neliel had to admit — it was working. A nerve-wracking ten minutes later and questions that sometimes didn't seem relevant, the words she thought she'll never hear were spoken by Unohana. "Okay Odelschwanck, last question. How long did it take you to learn Bankai from the time you managed materialization?" She was all businesslike, nothing like the caring but scary tone she used in treating patients.

Neliel's face took on a look of concentration as she tried to remember how long it took her. "I believe it took me about a year."

None of the taichou gave any form of reaction to her words, but what she didn't know was that they were all a little shocked and impressed at the short time it took her to achieve Bankai. "That ends the first segment of the interview!" Yamamoto then announced.

"Now, as you well know, almost every Shinigami that has the privilege of becoming a taichou has the ability to do Bankai. Normally, you would be asked to display your Bankai; however, in light of… unusual circumstances, we have decided to make an exception to the rules."

At that moment, the chamber doors opened and in walked Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow. Neliel looked at him curiously and Grimmjow mirrored the look. "Neliel, what's going on?" Grimmjow hissed as he reached Neliel.

"I have no idea," Neliel whispered back, but nevertheless, they both stood side by side, facing the judging taichou.

Unohana spoke up. "This is the first time two candidates are contesting for a taichou's spot. While you two have exceeded our expectations, and are both most certainly able to become taichou, it appears we are unable to make a decision with regards to who is more capable. We have come to an agreement…" The slight disdainful look on her face showed that she didn't really agree with whatever decision it was. "That a taichou who can be beaten by one who isn't would be extremely shameful; as such, you two will duel each other, and the winner will be declared the 10th Division taichou."

Neliel and Grimmjow stared at each other in shock and Neliel could've sworn she saw a look of pain in Grimmjow's eyes. "_To the death?_" Grimmjow growled.

"No, no, nothing like that," Kyōraku said with a smile. "Normal duelling rules: give up or get knocked out. Although, you two will have to fight with your Bankai."

Neliel looked round the wide, enclosed chamber uncertainly. "Here?" She asked.

Kyōraku chuckled. "You're not the first person to ask that question. These walls are all reinforced to withstand a taichou's full power, so we should be safe. It's also large enough to accommodate a Bankai's size as well. Don't worry though, reiatsu cannot be detected from the outside, and if you so wish, your Bankai's power will remain confidential among all of us. And in case you're forgetting, the 4th Division taichou is here." Neliel nodded and looked at Grimmjow. He too looked a little uneasy, but didn't say anything. Nevertheless, they both moved apart and turned to face each other. They both wanted the taichou's position, so they both knew the fight wasn't going to be easy.

Grimmjow had never seen Neliel's Zanpakutō before, although Shūhei once said it was animal-based, and there were rumours going round saying that it was extremely powerful. It looked like a normal odachi and Grimmjow smiled a little when he noticed that it was taller than Neliel herself. She raised her Zanpakutō holding it horizontally in front of her, a pink glow encompassing it as power radiated off of its wielder. Raising her head slowly, Neliel's calmly anxious eyes met the observing ones of the judges. "_Declare, Gamuza!_" Neliel declared. Gamuza became the double-sided lance.

Grimmjow too drew his Zanpakutō and held it out in Neliel's direction. The latter stared back and didn't move. "_Shred flesh, Pantera!_" At once, light blue reiatsu flowed from the blade and it morphed into his trusted panther-claw-tipped Shikai staff.

They both stared each other down and were about to engage when Yamamoto's voice cut in. "You are to fight with Bankai, and nothing less, or this taichou's test is useless."

Seeing as she had no choice, Neliel went first. She powered up, her reiatsu skyrocketing. A sudden burst of emerald reiatsu flared out from her and a wave of confidence flowed through her. She yelled: "_Bankai! Hisuiransu Gamuza!_"

A blast of emerald reiatsu surged from her in all directions, kicking up a cloud of dust. From a distance away, the three judging taichou noted the power at which her Bankai was released. The lights illuminating the huge chamber seemed to wink out of existence for a second before returning, although they looked much dimmer than before, creating large shadows from the pillars throughout the chamber.

Eventually, the dust settled, leaving Neliel standing there, revealing her Bankai for the first time. Standing behind her was the giant form of a brownish-green ibex-like centaur, complete with a black horse's tail. His horns were longer and more curved and extended slightly, framing the sides of his face, particularly the cheeks. His shoulders were covered by white spaulders that come across his shoulder blades to his neck. He had white elbow guards and white gauntlets. The parts of his arms that weren't covered by armour were covered by a black material, which also covered his hands. There was a white ring at the base of his tail. Gamuza itself had transformed into a double-sided lance in the spirit's hands, but remained sealed in Neliel's. These features granted the Zanpakutō the overall appearance of a medieval knight or jouster.

Neliel gave her sword a couple of slices through the air to test it out. Then, she turned to the watching taichou. The first thing she noticed was that they were all staring at her with deadpan expressions. One of them motioned for Grimmjow to begin.

Grimmjow had been busy watching Neliel, taking in her Bankai and obviously calculating and trying to determine what her Bankai did. But once he was given the go ahead, Grimmjow immediately began powering up. A blast of black reiatsu flared from him and he became quietly confident. Darkness surrounded him, originating from his Zanpakutō. It completely obscured him from sight. He raised his sword high in the air, knowing they wouldn't be able to see. "_Bankai! Kurai Pantera!_" he yelled as the black shroud dissipated rapidly.

As Neliel watched on, a black helmet with a line for vision was now adorned on Grimmjow's head, but the changes didn't end there. There was a black cape fixed over his shoulders, secured by two skulls that resembled panther heads. Metal armour covered his arms, reaching down to his hands. His hands and fingers looked miniscule compared to the skeletal claws that took the place of standard metal gloves. It served to make him look frightening. _However_, Neliel thought, _the terror factor sure served its purpose_.

"You two may begin anytime," Kyōraku chuckled. "The only restriction is: please don't destroy the place."

The two young Shinigami never tore their gazes, staring down their opponents. Fighting with Bankai was dangerous, but they were trained to fight, after all, and were both vying for the one spot. "I'm not going to hold anything back," Grimmjow remarked, determination in his eyes. He tensed up and got ready to engage — and froze in horror when he felt the tip of Neliel's sword at his neck. "Wha-"

"No one asked you to wait up, Grimmjow," Neliel noted with a smirk, before leaping away and bracing herself again. Grimmjow stared back at her in shock, thinking that Neliel had somehow flash-stepped right up to him. He cursed himself for letting his guard down for that brief moment. Neliel had just drawn first blood without inflicting a single physical wound. He could have easily lost the match there and then.

Grimmjow shook off his shock and charged at Neliel, who just stood there, not moving even when Grimmjow was right upon her. Grimmjow swung and, just before the blade connected, Neliel shot off, sidestepping and leaping into the air. Her reiatsu seemed to wink out of existence for a fraction of a second before reappearing a distance behind Grimmjow. Grimmjow spun round, raising his armour covered arms, and as darkness burst from them, it solidified into his darts, and shot up at Neliel. The latter waited until the darts were right in front of her before sidestepping, the darts missing her by inches. Immediately, Grimmjow sliced the air with his claws and yelled. The dark energy made a sharp turn and shot at Neliel again.

Neliel easily leapt away — then all of a sudden, Grimmjow found Neliel tearing straight at him. Horrified at the speed, Grimmjow managed to jump away to safety, just as Neliel struck the ground hard. Before he had time to regain his bearings, Neliel was on the move again. Jade reiatsu flared from Neliel's blade as she pulled it back. She thrust her blade forward and her Zanpakutō spirit threw his double-sided lance at Grimmjow.

Grimmjow sensed the power behind the attack, but managed to flash-stepped away. The lance slammed into the far wall, kicking up a cloud of dust, before ricocheting back to Gamuza. Refocusing on where Neliel was, he saw Neliel shooting up to meet him. Expecting a straight charge, but wary nevertheless, Grimmjow raised his sword to counter Neliel's charge. Just as he was about to swing down, Neliel's reiatsu vanished and, almost as suddenly, reappeared behind and right above Grimmjow, even as the Neliel in front of him continued charging. Momentarily confused, Grimmjow turned and focused on the reiatsu, but Neliel had already struck.

But just before Neliel's blade could collide with Grimmjow, he activated his Kurai Namida and sent the powerful slicing move in her direction. Neliel's attack struck the dark energy, slashing it and sending Grimmjow crashing to the ground.

Neliel landed as Grimmjow got up, mostly unhurt. "How the hell are you moving so fast?" Grimmjow asked. "I've never seen anyone move that fast."

"You're not doing so bad yourself, if you're able to keep up," Neliel smirked cheekily.

Grimmjow bristled slightly. "I'm able to keep up," he spat as his black reiatsu flared up again. "I can also go faster than that!"

He charged again at Neliel, this time considerably faster than before, but Neliel didn't flinch. Grimmjow gripped his sword with both hands and cleaved downwards, but Neliel easily brought her blade up to meet it. Then, she sidestepped, pulling her blade with her and letting Grimmjow's sword breeze past narrowly. Immediately, Neliel countered for her side, but the black darts made a nuisance of themselves again, bustling in front of and protecting Grimmjow even as the latter spun round, aiming low.

Neliel pulled away, jumping back to avoid the low blade, but found herself having to raise her sword when she saw a dart heading to her position. It crashed against her sword harmlessly, and she leaped forward the moment her feet touched the ground. Grimmjow responded in kind, pulling back his sword in anticipation. It was only when Neliel noticed blackness gushing from the tip of Grimmjow's blade that he realized the other Shinigami was using a technique.

"_Kurai Namida!_" Grimmjow yelled, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Her mind screaming to avoid it, Neliel jumped into the air to avoid the attack. Below her, black reishi bolts erupted from Grimmjow's blade and struck the ground. Before the dust had even settled, Grimmjow had spun round to track Neliel's movements. "_Kurai Tsume!_" he yelled again, swinging his claws through the air and, once more, dark energy burst forth and charged at Neliel.

Neliel growled slightly at Grimmjow's ferocity. He definitely meant business. If she wasn't careful, she could very well lose. As the energy sped towards her, she decided to pick up the pace. Just before it crashed into her, she shot to the side. It appeared that Grimmjow had anticipated that, because the moment Neliel reappeared, another burst was sent towards her. She dodged that one again, but Grimmjow didn't let up, and was now rapidly sending a barrage of Kurai Tsume tirelessly.

Still, Neliel managed to dodge all of them easily. In fact, to her, she thought it was rather slow. Suddenly, her body gave a violent shiver, delaying her long enough for the dark energy to be right on top of her. Alarmed, she hastily moved aside, and just in time too. The energy grazed her arm as it surged past, but she had to ignore the burning feeling as yet another onslaught was sent speeding towards her. She had to move faster and start attacking or she would be in deep trouble.

"Hey, Grimmjow! It's my turn now!" She couldn't resist saying.

"Not if I end it first!" Grimmjow yelled back, charging forward as he said that.

"I haven't even shown you what I can do," Neliel replied. This time, she didn't wait, and before Grimmjow had gotten anywhere near her, she sped away. "I'm over here!" She called out. A look of surprise flit across Grimmjow's face for a moment but he immediately braked and changed direction, using shunpo to charge at Neliel, but Neliel easily sped off.

It continued on for a couple more times — Neliel sped off somewhere, followed closely by Grimmjow, but it was getting easier and easier for Neliel to speed clear of Grimmjow as she rapidly gained speed. Grimmjow was now nearing his top speed, but Neliel was still gaining speed. Then, to his surprise, Neliel's figure disappeared, and numerous Neliel suddenly materialized all around the chamber, both high and low and surrounding him. Even as he watched, each image of Neliel disappeared only to be replaced somewhere else.

"I thought you said you could go faster?" Neliel called out from all directions. "You don't seem to be able to keep up."

Grimmjow didn't rise to the bait, merely standing still and looking round, ready to move if necessary. But all of a sudden, Neliel appeared right in front of him, her blade already striking down. Shocked, Grimmjow quickly brought his blade up and jumped back simultaneously, but he wasn't in time. Neliel managed to score a long cut across his chest. Grimmjow hissed in pain as he staggered back, but Neliel charged again. Grimmjow raised his sword in preparation to defend himself, but Neliel was ready. She suddenly dropped to the ground, her feet landing on the ground. Immediately, she shouted: "_Midori Denkō Takkuru!_"

Her Zanpakutō spirit charged at Grimmjow, green coloured lightning surrounding it. As the spirit loomed over the 3rd Seat, he brought his sword up in a defensive manoeuvre, hoping he wouldn't end up too badly hurt. The lightning crashed down on him with a blinding blaze of light. He was sent down on his knees.

Neliel stood and watched her opponent slowly get up, obviously having taken damage. The helmet had flown off his head and his light blue hair was blackened; the armour was scorched red and he was hastily trying to get it off. He was panting slightly from the attack, yet he gritted his teeth and raised his sword, readying himself again. In response, Neliel raised her sword as well, looking as if she hadn't just exerted herself.

"Nice move, Nel, whatever it was," Grimmjow said. He crouched slightly, ready to attack. Nothing happened for a few seconds, than he launched himself at Neliel again, but his movements seemed significantly slower than before. He stabbed at Neliel, but Neliel merely sidestepped before jumping away when Grimmjow's feet shifted and he swiped with his clawed hand.

Neliel wasn't done though, and in one fluid motion, she slid her sword up along Grimmjow's, angling her body to the side before elbowing Grimmjow square on his jaw. Grunting in pain, Grimmjow staggered back, but he quickly regained his balance and started to charge again.

Less than a second later, Grimmjow collapsed onto all fours, panting, his Bankai deactivated, his energy obviously depleted. For a moment, there was silence. The battle had ended anticlimactically, but the winner was obvious. Neliel walked up to Grimmjow and held out a hand to the surprised Shinigami. "Good fight. I would've lost if I wasn't careful."

Grimmjow gave a respectful nod to Neliel before grabbing Neliel's hand and allowing himself to be helped up. "Your Bankai is unique. I never expected such a Bankai to exist."

Neliel smirked. "I knew you'd figure it out." They both turned to the judging taichou to await their verdict.

"I've never heard of such a thing. Although, that probably explains why you seem at ease with using it," Kyōraku commented, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That probably makes it easier to master and easier for you to maintain it. It also makes you that much scarier as well. Concentrating that much power in addition to your Zanpakuto's element; I won't want to be fighting you, fuku-taichou."

"You flatter me, taichou," Neliel said with a bow.

Unohana turned to Grimmjow. "And to you, 3rd Seat Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow. You fought well, much better than any of us could have expected," she said kindly. "You are still young, and you have plenty of time to train."

"Thank you for your kind words, Unohana-taichou," Grimmjow said, the disappointment in his voice kept to a minimum.

"As promised, we will not reveal your powers to anyone for the sake of confidentiality, although I do hope you haven't already exhausted your moves already," Kyōraku said to the two candidates before turning to Neliel. "Well, if there's nothing else, let me be the first to congratulate you, Jubantai taichou, Odelschwanck Neliel."


	8. 10th Division Taichou

**Silent Hero 13**: Thank you so much. I still have to review your fic. I appreciate your comments.

**QueenPersephoneofHades**: Here it is! The chapter you've been waiting forever for is waiting to be read. Does Neliel accept Shinji's apology?

_**Chapter 5: 10th Division Taichou**_

"Welcome taichou and fuku-taichou of the 13 Court Guard Squads, I have some great news. The position for the 10th Division taichou's slot has finally been filled," the sou-taichou declared in his normal strict voice. Then he slightly opened his eyes and called out: "Please enter!"

Instantly, the doors opened and all eyes were on a young girl that looked about fourteen-years-old. She wore the standard Shinigami robes with a long-sleeved, taichou's haori. Her Zanpakutō was contained on her back with a string.

All but the sou-taichou, the judging taichou and Starrk were shocked that the new taichou was Neliel. "Congratulations Neliel, you are the new taichou of the 10th Division. Unfortunately there is no fuku-taichou assigned in your squad, but I trust you will be able to find someone worthy of the title?" Yamamoto asked.

Neliel nodded. "Yes sou-taichou, I choose 3rd Seat Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow," she answered pleasantly, but firmly. The sou-taichou wasn't expecting that response.

But he just nodded and then Neliel walked over to her spot and stood where she was supposed to be. "3rd Seat Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow, do you accept the position of fuku-taichou for the 10th Division?" He asked the teen, who had been fetched by a member of his own Division.

The light blue-haired male raised his head. "Yes, sou-taichou, I accept!" he answered assertively.

The sou-taichou nodded. "Alright then, take your place behind your taichou and we shall commence the meeting!" he said gesturing him towards Neliel; he quickly moved to his place and the taichou/fuku-taichou meeting took off from there.

...

Shinji wasn't really paying any attention to the meeting and was caught off-guard when it finished and everyone started leaving. "Neliel!" he called as he hurried to catch up to her.

Shunsui and Jūshirō glanced at him as he ran past. "Yare yare, love," the pink, flowered ladies kimono-wearing taichou murmured. Shinji barely heard him, but Jūshirō gave his best friend a hard nudge in the ribs; the white-haired Ukitake worrying that the younger taichou might have heard Shunsui's comment.

"Neliel?" He repeated as he walked up to her. She only slightly glanced at him, but then turned away. "Neliel, I called you," he whispered, looking sad. She still gave no response, nor did she stop walking. So he looked into her eyes and found... nothing. Nothing except a hardened heart. _Damn you, Sakanade. You let this get too far out of my control. I'm so sorry, Neliel. Please... forgive me_.

She came to a stop and seemed to look straight through him. "Neliel?" He asked.

Neliel finally stared at him, before closing her eyes. "Is there something you need help with, Hirako-taichou?"

Shinji's eyes widened. _She used my title? Ugh, when I get through with you, Sakanade...!_ He thought as he tried to understand why Neliel was so cold towards him. Because deep down, the Nel he knew wasn't an ice queen. "Why, Neliel? Why are you like this? We're friends," he remarked with sorrow in his voice.

She opened her narrowed eyes, stared at him for a moment and raised an eyebrow. "I would prefer it if you called me Odelschwanck-taichou," she replied in a voice too cold for Shinji's liking.

He stepped back from her, as if she'd slapped him. "N-Neliel..." he breathed her name in shock.

Neliel continued to stare at him with a hardened glare, which was all but permanent on her face, but as she looked into his eyes, her expression seemed to suddenly soften. She then sighed deeply. "I suppose our friendship has not faded."

At that, he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Well, why did you call me by my title? Why were you talking to me like you hated me?" He questioned, misery again evident in his tone.

Neliel sighed once more, only this time in slight annoyance. "I call everyone by their titles. I forgot you don't do it that way," she said as if she truly just remembered about that. "If it seemed like I hated you, then I apologize; but you are mostly to blame. Your attitude at your graduation..."

His eyes widened a bit more as he remembered that day. _The day of my graduation! I'd finished earlier than the others. I thought I was better than... oh shit! I was a real jerk back then. Does that mean she's become cold towards me because I was a dickhe-! Shit. I'm so sorry Neliel. That means she really does like m-... but what about... I guess she had no other opt-_ He cut his thoughts when he noticed her staring at someone in disdain.

He followed her gaze and saw his own fuku-taichou, Sōsuke Aizen, walking by. "It's taken you all this time to notice the stink about him?" He asked her, as Neliel returned her eyes to Shinji. He cheekily poked his tongue out at her.

She smiled with her eyes, a true grin, and whacked him upside the head lightly. "We're not too different from before, then?"

"We're all at different positions, you know that. We need to convince the others to hurry up," he looked over at her. "It won't be too long before he _moves_," he added, hissing the last word.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?!" A rather taut voice snapped through the peaceful moment.

"Shoo dickhead," Shinji remarked casually and flicked a finger at Grimmjow's forehead.

"Shinji!" Neliel mock reprimanded, before turning to her fuku-taichou. "Just go back to the Division and I'll be there shortly, Grimmkitty."

Grimmjow's lips drew back in an animalistic snarl, saying something inaudible to his taichou before he walked off stiffly, away from Shinji.

The two taichou stood next to each after Grimmjow left. "Nel," the blonde spoke, waiting for permission to continue.

"Impress me," she answered.

He ran a finger down her neck and breathed softly into her ear. "May we go out on a d-"

She turned and her eyes looked into his. "Apology accepted. But you do know that-"

"Grimmkitty won't be happy, I know. Nothing we can do about-"

Kisuke and Yoruichi suddenly popped into their personal space. "Shinji and Neliel, sitting in a tree," the Shihōin princess sang.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Kisuke finished. _Those_ two lovebirds then ran off, Kisuke flapping his hand in Shinji's direction.

The long-haired blonde groaned and rolled his eyes. He knew what Kisuke's signal meant. The next lot of years was going to be _very_ long and tedious.


End file.
